The Devil went down to Tristain
by SirSaulty1995
Summary: Be very careful of what you wish for, you never know who might be listening. Nothing comes free, as there is always a price in return. Louise learnt this the hard way when she inadvertently brought a man that was once thought to be gone for good, and she made a deal with him. in return? she must collect debts long overdue from a certain legend. Rated M for Brimir and Noble Bashing.
1. Chapter1:The Devil went down to Tristain

**The story takes place after the good ending of Witcher 3 Heart's of stone expansion.**

 **Rated M for dark content, Eeriness, Sexual Nudity (Later on), Violence, Gore and etc.**

 **I do not own the anime or the Game, all rights go towards their official creators. please support the official release.**

 **Warning! this story contains an Anti hero and greyish Louise, evil Gaunter, brief and minor Louise bashing, major Brimir bashing and Nobility bashing.**

 **The Devil went down to Tristain**

Geralt of Rivia had not got much time left as he spent most of it wandering around this barren and twisted world that was formed by the master mirror or the devil himself as Geralt had secretly believed him to be. This Gaunter O'Dimm, the man of many names, Or could he even be a man to begin with.

After bringing Olgierd to the Temple of Lilvani, where he delivers the violet rose, fulfilling the third wish. Where suddenly Gaunter O'Dimm appears in the moon light walking in the air and stepping down on like he was on invisible stairs and informs Olgierd that he has fulfilled their contract by granting three wishes and meeting on the moon, which actually appeared to be a trick as the meaning behind it was actually a portrait painted on the ground of the temple was what he meant.

If Geralt had not met professor Shakeslock then O'Dimm would've claimed Olgierd's soul. Geralt chose to step in and stood up for Olgeird, which soon led to the man of mirrors to challenge Geralt to a game. Geralt accepted the challenge on behalf of Olgeird's soul and his own freedom if he were to win the challenge.

O'Dimm teleported Geralt to a miniature world or dimension and he explained the rules of the challenge. O'Dimm then recited the riddle which he wants Geralt to find the solution of in the miniature world to search for the answer of this riddle.

 **"To all things and men I appertain,**

 **and yet by some am shunned and distained.**

 **Fondle me and ogle me til you're insane,**

 **but no blow can harm me, cause me pain.**

 **Children delight in me, elders take fright.**

 **Fair maids rejoice and spin.**

 **Cry and I weep, yawn and I sleep.**

 **Smile, and I too shall grin.**

 **What am I?"**

Most of the points of interest in the world were decoys designed to waste his time time and increase O'Dimm's personal enjoyment of Geralt's predicament. O'Dimm had also deployed spectres in this world resembling blackened versions of monsters Geralt had fought before.

Geralt soon realised that the riddle had something to do with mirrors, but O'Dimm never went easy on Geralt and made him run around in circles chasing mirrors that would shatter once approached. He then got a clue about the riddle that a mirror was not the solution to the riddle as it revolved around the reflection, So the cat that gave him the clue told him to search for a reflection that doesn't break.

The search led him to a fountain to where he used his witcher senses. He discovered that there was a water source behind some rubble, so he blasted the rubble with a telekinetic Aard spell and the water flowed in to fill the fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

Walking up to the edge of the fountain after he filled it up with water, he leaned over the edge of the fountain looked into the reflection to see himself, and someone else.

"Gotcha!" Geralt's hands dived into the water and grabbed the Man of glass by the collar and lifted him out of the water to come face to face with the man… or the devil himself. Geralt was in for a surprise as Gaunter's face and eyes morphed into something demonic.

" **Ouw se on coq e coq la se rwa an le pil fimie ay. Shen ggonia monerie, ara scdebi. Man amaran nai, Nir sauyn fala fastama azdahzan" (You are primitive. You think you've defeated me but you are wrong. I can't be killed, I will be back.)** Gaunter sneered at Geralt and disappeared from Geralt's grasp and back into the reflection of the water in the fountain. as he walked backwards with his skin disintegrating and spontaneously com-busting towards the light in the fountain applauding sarcastically at Geralts's effort in solving his riddle.

"Be gone. You have lost." Geralt told him before Gaunter disintegrated and the last thing Geralt heard of him and saw of him was a snarling visage as he gave out one last demonic roar before he disintegrated completely.

" **Grrraaaaarggggghhhaaaaahhrr!"** was Gaunter's last Roar as Geralt had beaten him at his own game. His evil schemes and plots were no more… for now.

* * *

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk... hmmmm… I do admit, I didn't quite expect him to outsmart me at my own game. Interesting specimens them witchers, I should employ their services more often." Gaunter pondered to himself in amusement as he sat down drifting in the void for an unknown amount of time.

"But he must be a fool to believe that I have been beaten. It does not matter how long, but I will eventually return. He probably does not know that there are far more worlds outside of his own little world out there for me to explore and exploit." He chuckled to himself as he reminisced in some of his favourite memories of travelling to worlds and exploiting some of the world's people to grant them their wishes in exchange for something that Gaunter wants in that world.

"Oh the memories I had in some of those worlds, especially Earth. Oh ho ho ho! Were they easy to manipulate. You just show off a little bit of power and then they will fall on their hands and knees praying to me like I'm some sort of god, and then sooner or later they began fighting and killing each other in my name! Hahaha! Fools!." Gaunter chuckled to himself as he remembered the fond memories of exploiting their beliefs for some false ideology and resulting in the start of a corrupted system which resulted in many religious wars and injustice.

"Hmm? Where to go now I wonder?... and I should really change my clothes, their fashion sense is really primitive and are really an eyesore and uncomfortable for me." he fidgeted as the itchy clothes made him move irrationally. "*Sigh!* I should really think up of something to do, this view of utter blackness is all the same." He sighed and decided to straighten out and placed his hands behind his head and hook one leg over the other to relax and think up of his next move.

" **Pentagon of the five elemental power, Heed my summoning..."**

"A voice from within the void?"

" **My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe…"**

"Hmmm?...no, it came from a world… a calling?"

" **Bring forth my familiar…"**

"Familiar?... hmm… that does sound rather familiar, he! Get it… oooh I do crack myself up sometimes… But does this voice mean myself?"

 **"My divine…"**

"Divine?...try devilishly handsome, if I must say so myself."

" **My beautiful…"**

"Depends on what your definition of what beauty is… as there are many examples."

" **My wise…"**

"Oh darling… you have no idea."

" **My powerful familiar** "

"Naturally..."

"H **eed my call, I wish from very bottom of my heart and answer to my guidance and bring forth my familiar!"**

"Hmmm… now this is interesting. I have been called upon by an individual who has called upon something or someone of great power, and I sense great power from this one. she wishes from the bottom of her heart she says. Well… we shall see about that, won't we."

And then a green portal opened up in front of him and Gaunter O'dimm's face lit up in recognition and roared in laughter.

"HAHAH! Now I remember where that summoning incantation was from. It was from that fool Brimir's world… Halkeginia was it? Hn! How long has it been since I last been there… I reckon it has been… about six thousand years have passed since I last visited their world… time does fly by as the saying goes."

The green portal was now floating nearer towards Gaunter O'Dimm.

"Oh well… time to see how his world has fared out since I last visited." Gaunter smirked to himself before walking towards the green light of the portal and walked inside without hesitation.

* * *

Today was the day for the young second year nobles of the Tristian magic academy, yes it was the day where they get to summon their very own servant beings called familiars. They are creatures ranging from the average household pets to exotic looking and rare creatures and beasts found in the wilds or unreachable places, but only few notable mages have managed to summon anything as grand and spectacular as those because they were of a higher magic level than the rest.

Some nobles were ecstatic for today, some were determined, some were nervous and one of them was feeling all three emotions except if you switch out nervous for dread.

All of the students were now outside in the courtyard and had a teacher to supervise them all. The teacher was in his 40s who was wearing a dark blue/gray robe and glasses and he was also really bald on his scalp with only the back and sides the only places to have hair.

He was currently supervising the students in an orderly fashion by whoever wishes to volunteer first. The student he was supervising was an average looking boy who summoned an odd looking creature known as a bugbear. in the mages society it was considered a good summon and he was quite proud of his achievement. Most of the other summons were normal animals ranging from birds, horses, cats, dogs, and reptiles etc. surprisingly, there was someone who managed to summon a blue dragon out of all creatures and fantastic beasts.

"Alright who is next up?" the teacher called out to the crowd

"Ah that would be me, Guiche de gramont, Mr Colbert." The boy said in a rather flamboyant way and swishing his rose around like a romantic prince. "I will summon the finest looking familiar this academy has ever witnessed, and then my fame will…."

"Would you kindly get on with it please, there are other people still waiting for their turn." Colbert interrupted his theatrical way of speaking in favour of getting on with the summon.

"Ah of course… well then." He laughed sheepishly until he began his own chant for his summoning spell which made the earth rumble from underneath. The ground cracked and split apart as the earth rose. "Answer to my summons" Guiche finished his chant off with a flick of his rose wand, the rumbling stopped all of a sudden and what popped out of the ground was….an oversized mole.

"EH!?" Guiche face faulted at the unexpected outcome.

"Alright moving on, who is next?" Colbert nodded at the result and wrote it down in his notepad.

"I will go next, Mr Colbert." Said a charming tanned red head who many know her as the sultry Germanian girl who has most of the boys in the academy chasing after her.

"Ah, Miss zerbst. Whenever you are ready you can cast the spell." Colbert nodded for her to proceed.

"Of course" she smiled with confidence. "Are you watching me zero, I don't want you to miss my beautiful, divine and powerful familiar." She teased towards a girl in the crowd with pink hair with a tick mark on her forehead and was growling at her, she really didn't want to be reminded of what she said yesterday.

"Just get on with it!" she yelled at her.

"Miss zerbst the incantation please." Said Colbert interrupting the two rather impatiently and quite annoyed at the childish jabbing at each other.

She nodded and proceeded with the summoning incantation. She had every word spot on and the correct foci focused into her wand, gathering up the willpower into the tip of her wand and then a burst of flame erupted fro the ground she was pointing at and then a Flame salamander appeared.

"Oohh a flame salamander, very impressive Miss Zerbst."

Kirche then threw Louise a victorious smirk in her direction which in return she scowled.

Things were not looking well for her at all; she tried to remain hidden within the crowd only for the professor to call her name out thanks to the Zerbst. Life to Louise always seemed to be against her for most of her life. This familiar summoning ritual was not making her fears go away after she witnessed some of the summons the rest of the students acquired. Summons like, small household pets, lizards, birds, country side animals, and exotic creatures like Kirche's fire salamander and Tabitha's blue dragon.

'Oh why in Brimir's name did I have to say that yesterday!' she winced at the reminder of what she had proclaimed yesterday. if she failed this spell then she will be a laughing stock and possibly kicked out of the school, and she dare not imagine what would be waiting for her back at home.

"Miss Valliere? It's your turn!" professor Colbert called out to her.

'Well… here I go' she took a deep breath in and exhaled out to control her nerves. All eyes were on her and shortly the Jeers and taunts were being spat out by her fellow class mates.

"Yeah go on Zero!"

"Blow it away like you always do Zero"

Those were the more outspoken jeers, the whispers were the worst as they weren't even trying to keep it quiet.

" _isn't that the one who always blows up every spell?!"_

" _Yeah, that is Louise the Zero. I don't know why she bothers to be honest, it's not like she has any chance of succeeding because her spell casting chance is always Zero, just like her Rune name._

" _I heard she is the daughter of Karin of the heavy wind. I thought she would at least inherit her talent? I guess that makes her the black sheep of the family."_

" _Who cares if she succeeds? The sooner she fails this spell, the quicker she can leave. I'm sick of her explosions and I want her gone."_

Louise gripped onto her wand tightly and clenched her teeth together. No matter how much she disciplines herself on her mother's rule of steel they will always find a way to crack through it.

"Enough! You're all nobles and this behaviour is unbecoming of such a title." Colbert

"But sir we all know it's true" a random noble boy voiced out nearly every student's thoughts.

"I said enough! I won't stand for this kind of behaviour. At least she had the decency to remain respectful for everyone's summons."

Everyone remained silent after that remark. Louise however was grateful for Colbert in silencing the jeers and taunts so she could focus on her summon.

She got into position and prepared her own unique chant.

"Pentagon of the five elemental powers, Heed my summoning. My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe. My divine, my beautiful, my wise, My powerful familiar. Heed my call, I wish from very bottom of my heart and answer to my guidance and bring forth my familiar!" she chanted her own unique summoning incantation and with a swish and a flick of her wand… the courtyard erupted in chaos as the ground in front of her had exploded... like the rest of her spells, but this explosion in particular was more destructive than the rest of her failed attempts.

"As expected" Guiche coughed and spluttered as the dust and smoke was kicked up from the blast. "Are you okay Montmorency" he crouched down to check on his girlfriend/fiance, to which she replied by pointing at at the dust cloud as they could see an apparition within the dust cloud. And then everyone in the courtyard could hear whistling, a whistle that gave them chills in their spines.

( **Play** **Witcher 3 Hearts of stone OST: Gaunter O'Dimm Theme song & Gaunter whistling at the end of the Hearts of stone campaign Evil ending)**

And then they heard footsteps that to them it sounded like loud echoes. The whistling grew louder and closer as the wind suddenly parted away to allow a figure of a man to walk through the dust cloud. The strange man himself was still continuing his cheery whistle which to some people like Tabitha, Colbert and the familiars made them clench their staffs warily and freeze on the spot as they felt his aura, And their instincts were screaming in their heads "Get away from him! He is dangerous!"

The man's appearance was of a young man who looked to be in his Mid to late twenties. He had a shaved bald head and brown eyes and a five o clock shadow forming on his face. His leather coat was a dark grey colour with a hood and a crimson red scarf wrapped around his neck and he also had dark grey leather fingerless gloves. His Combat trousers were Dark blue with multiple pockets and his Combat Boots were Dark brown. He had two satchel bags on both sides of his hips and he had a pouch hanging in front of his chest. His facial expression was a chilling grin hidden by his cheery whistling and charming and friendly persona.

The ones who didn't look past the persona namely the rest of the ignorant students and Louise all saw a Mangy commoner vagrant.

"Th-Thi-This i-is my Divine, W-wise, p-powerful and beautiful fa-familiar" " she stuttered out as she could barely contain her boiling rage and the twitchiness of her right eye and arms as the results were not what she wanted at all. And it was made worse when the students all took notice of her result of a summon.

""Look! Louise the zero summoned a peasant!"

"HAHAHA! That's fitting for someone of her status as zero, just like a commoner"

"Nothing less from someone who put up a huge fuss about it, and to think that you would summon a commoner in the end!"

All of the 2nd year nobles took part in the jeering and Louise instantly gritted her teeth in shame. She then looked ahead of the Students all voicing their jeers at her and she expected Kirche of all people to be leading the teasing and harassments, but weirdly she paid no attention to her, but her friend as strangely Tabitha was paying a lot of attention towards her familiar which was unlike her. it was as if she was… spooked. Kirche grew curious as to why her friend was interested In Louise's familiar as she never seemed to pay much attention to anything else but her.

"I just made a mistake" she sputtered out in embarrassment at the whole class.

"Yeah right Zero!"

"Your will always be a zero!"

Louise scowled to herself and she just wanted to go back to her room and scream into her pillow.

As all this was happening, the stranger still had his eerie smile on his face.

* * *

Gaunter arrived in what appeared to be a courtyard of some castle/Fort. How bland he thought. The only notable point's about this fort was the many spires or towers running across the walls with several coloured roofs and this giant tower in the centre of the fort.

As soon as he exited that portal and the dust cloud, the first thing he saw were multiple snot nosed teenagers, an experienced bald middle aged man, and multiple animals and creatures both common and exotic. All of the people here appeared to be mages of some sort, and he could sense normal people elsewhere within the fort.

The teenagers or children as he saw them as, all wore what appeared to be school uniform. 'Oh so this is a school or an academy for exclusive people like Oxenfurt academy… but what does it specialise in I wonder? Well it would have to do with something like magic obviously.' Gaunter thought to himself.

He Decided that it would be best to consult the only nearest adult in the courtyard. He walked past the pink haired little girl which was a strange hair colour that was actually natural pink hair believe it or not, and he thought white/silver hair was odd enough.

He walked up to the bald mage.

"Greetings master mage." He approached him with a smile.

"Erm… h-hello" he said uncertainly.

"As you already know, I have been summoned by one of your students here… Who may that young mage be if I may ask?"

"That would be me familiar!" a stern voice raised her voice from behind him clearly annoyed by him ignoring her.

Gaunter turned around to examine this young mage. From first glance he already knew her age which is 16 years of age and her measurements which is 4'9" ft and her three measurement sizes were 76-53-75 cm. he could tell that she is of noble/Aristocratic blood as she had that air and sense of superiority around her, but deep down she is hurt and lonely. She was a victim of torment and bullying and her heart was plagued with fear of failure. She was the desperate type that wants to succeed in order to find acceptance… poor naïve little girl.

"And you are? Miss…" gaunter motioned for hr to introduce herself.

"Hmph!" she sniffed albeit rudely to which Gaunter was displeased by the lack of manners. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. And you familiar have been summoned by me, so you should show that you are honoured to be summoned by a noble."

"Did you now? Well I guess I was not what you hoped to be expecting, I do apologise for that." Gaunter Approached her and did a mock bow to which Louise Seethed to herself at the commoners attitude. The 2nd year students all thought it to be a good joke so they all laughed.

"In all seriousness, I came because I heard your voice." He spoke out in a voice that only she could hear despite the laughing and mocking of the students in the background. Louise froze in unease as she wondered what he had meant by that.

"Louise, would you please continue with the familiar binding ritual." Colbert ordered Louise in a commanding tone. As much as this strange anomaly that this person was, a human appearing out of the summoning ritual no less. It was mostly intriguing, he will have to look this up later… but now he really wanted to get on with it and have Louise seal the summoning contract binding.

"With this commoner!? Please Mr Colbert could I have another go at the summoning ritual." She pleaded."

"I'm afraid that is impossible, it is forbidden to do the same ritual twice. So I'm sorry louise but he is now your familiar."

' _I- I have to … k-kiss this scruffy looking peasant_." She shuddered to herself. Not in disgust over the appearance… well a bit, but it was mostly unbefitting for a high noble such as her to kiss someone of the lower commoner class. His looks weren't bad for someone who looks to be in his twenties or whatever age he is and the angular and sharp look of his face wasn't too bad in the looks department and he didn't look too rough round the edges. But his clothes reminded her of a wanderer of sorts, like a travelling merchant.

Gaunter chuckled silently to himself 'so I'm to be binded by this girl ay? Well… she is not much to look at first, but the potential is in there. I can see it crystal clear, the power of the void, the same power I granted to Brimir all those years ago before he decided to stab me in the back officially ending the contract we have made. So is this girl is his descendant? Or successor? It matters not, because the power in this girl is simply breath-taking, it just needs a push in the right direction to harness that power and voila… you have a legend in the making… hn! I'll play by her rules for now before I lay out the terms and conditions of the contract.' He plotted mentally before smiling.

"You can do it Zero!"

"Kiss the commoner Zero!"

The Jeers restarted yet again making Louise lowers her head in shame and boiling anger. To Gaunter he just ignores them as most nobles are the same wherever he goes. 'Typical Nobles always praying on the weak, but when the tables are turned they will turn tail and flee, or even better they drop on their knees and beg for mercy.'

Louise swallowed her pride for now and just decided to get on with the ritual. She walked up to Gaunter and ordered him to kneel which he did without complaint which was good, but the look and smile he was giving her unnerved her.

"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this humble being, and make him my familiar." She chanted out her spell and leaned foreward and kissed him on the lips.

Gaunter raised a single eyebrow 'This world's mages are indeed strange, why can't they be as interesting as the mages of the world I was previously at. like Yennefer of Vengerberg , Triss Merigold and Philippa Eilhart for example. These mages seem… stagnated… I can sense a lot of mages in this world, but they're a lot weaker and primitive compared to the sorceresses and mages of that witcher's world. they wouldn't last a week or even a few days in that world. And since when does kissing seal the deal of a contract for familiars? Binding them means giving them a mark.'

As soon as he said that he felt a tingling sensation on his left hand. He recognised the words, it all made sense to him now. 'so she is connected to Brimir… what has that greedy treacherous whoreson done with my gift I gave him? I can smell his taint all over these runes.' Gaunter scowled to himself and at the runes. 'If he wasn't dead then I would've enjoyed the look of him seeing me rip the soul out of his body.'

He inspected these runes and instantly translated them. Gandlafr the runes were called, the meaning of it meant The left hand of god. What was Brimir trying to play here? He cannot possibly be thinking himself as a god could he? How arrogant. He looked into the runes further and discovered it to be rune that gives the user the power to use, operate and wield certain weapons with expert like efficiency. Great for anyone else, but worthless to the man of glass. Why? Because Gaunter O'Dimm is the jack of all trades and he specialises in runes and anything supernatural and magic, so he could just make copy of his own or simply remove it without a fuss.

Not even that annoying voice in his head that came from the runes that tried to fight for control over his will could break his will into blind obedience towards his "Master". Granted this spell was primarily aimed towards animals and creatures that don't originally have sentient intelligence.

"Okay everyone class is over! Everyone should take the moment ot familiarise with their familiars." Colbert told everyone, to which everyone in the courtyard scattered to return to their own dorm rooms with their familiars following them.

The classmates of Louise turned and sneered at her, throwing more jabs in her direction as soon as they left by either walking or using the flying spell. Gaunter paid no attention to them as he saw better and could do better than that childish hocus pocus.

Although everyone had left, Tabitha remained still for a while and stared at Gaunter cautiously before leaving with her dragon Sylphid. Kirche followed after Tabitha before looking at Louise's Familiar in wonder. She would normally tease Louise about it but seeing Tabitha's expression made her think otherwise. The commoner man did look indeed mysterious she would admit, and a bit attractive she found herself admitting.

Louise silently seethed to herself as she steeled her resolve to shrug off the taunts, but her resolve and confidence was now at her lowest than it was ever before. She was at least thankful to the founder that Kirche didn't rub it in her face about her successfully summoned familiar. She heaved a heavy sigh as she just wants to go to bed and sleep the stress away.

"Come Familiar! We shall we going to my-…" she turned around to face her familiar only to see an outline blinking that was surrounding air to where Gaunter O'Dimm was previously standing.

"A-A-A-A-A!" she couldn't form up any words as her mouth twitched as her fury and outrage began to boil and her face twitched uncontrollably. "FAMILIAAARR!" She screeched like an enraged manticore that echoed around the whole courtyard and the academy.

* * *

 **(Elsewhere)**

 **(Play Devil may cry OST: castle theme)**

"Temper Temper little louise" Gaunter chuckled to himself as he was sitting crossed legged on a table in a library with a candle illuminating the book. He had in his left hand that he bit into was a shiny red apple and continued reading a book in his right hand about the history of the world of Halkeginia and other subjects such as, geography, social, political, financial, military, the lot and everything to do with Halkeginia just to catch up on what he missed out on for the last six thousand years he was absent from history due to a certain Treacherous man who abandoned the deal and double crossed him all for the sake of power.

It says in the books that he was casted out of the so called holy lands for reasons he did not know and they were now occupied by the elves. And it is also said that Brimir's wish is to completely eradicate all of the elves for reasons still unknown to him. Naturally Elves are superior to humans, but they mostly isolate themselves and avoid contact from humans. Gaunter himself has met some rather irritating and obnoxious elves from time to time who were so arrogant and bigoted towards humans, but there were some that meant well. So Gaunter just drew it up as natural Human instinct to simply hate/fear something they don't understand or is different or something beyond their reach.

It was also said that Brimir is the founder of magic in the world and he spread his knowledge to the humans, and then soon after that the noble caste system was put into place to rule the lands of Halkeginia and its people. Gaunter clicked his tongue in distaste at that, as it said that every person that has the capabilities to perform magic is considered instantly as a noble…. That is just plain ridiculous he thought. That was just utter nonsensical buggery of the meaning of the word "Noble". What it actually is, is a way to oppress the commoners and show their superiority over them while the common people are left with nothing to gain from the so called blessings from their founder. What's even worse that made Gaunter feel a little bit of bile forming in his mouth was that the bastard himself is the figure of the lands main religion and only accepted religion. The thought of it made him want to gauge someone's eyes out. If he thought about it, it could be as bad as the cult of the eternal fire… or dare he say worse.

It appears that human stupidity knew no bounds where ever he went. Like for example, that the geography of the world only contained the map of Halkegina. Why is that? Six thousand years is enough to travel and explore, yet they believe there is nothing beyond their own lands except the holy lands in the desert region to the south. To the east held the largest country in the continent, Germania. They are an empire of sorts that has the largest military in the land with Gallia in the south west following behind closely; it is considered to be barbaric to many of the Brimiric nations as they weren't strong believers of Brimir… rightfully so. They also hadn't travelled beyond their lands as there was a large mountainoues region barring their way, so they never bothered or they simply didn't dare or survive the treacherous weather and terrain in the mountain regions.

The country he was in was called Tristain and the building he was in was indeed a magic academy, one of the best in the lands so they say, that attracts students from all over the continent. Tristain itself was not a powerful country as they only had a small permanent force compared to the military might of Germania and Gallia and the air advantage that Albion has over Tristain which he will cover later, and the religious hierarchical country of Romalia having a political dominance over Tristain, Albion and Galllia when it comes to religion like some sort of puppet master from Romalia's church of Brimir which in some places would call it the Vatican.

He heard that the late king had passed away some time ago leaving his spouse and queen widowed, and his unfortunate daughter who is the princess of the country to take up the throne where her mother was incapable due to grief for her husband. He will have to look into that as he learnt that the princess who has decided to take up the reign for her country was only 17. Too young to be a ruler as to what many people would believe. He firmly believed that the foolish nobles would no doubt cause a power struggle to obtain dominance over the throne just to gain more power.

Albion strangely enough was said to be an island nation in the sky. How that happened was due to a large deposit buried deep within the island that caused the island to float. He wondered what would happen if the wind stones were to deplete overtime. Rumours were also circulating around Albion that it was going through a lot of strife right now as they were currently going through a coup d'état as the nobles rebelled against the royal monarchs. Apparently one man had rallied all of the nobles to jump on the band wagon to unite against the corrupt monarchs so they say. Oh really, and what of the commoners? Didn't they get a say in this?

Gallia, a kingdom that was south of Tristain was the second largest country in the continent. Not much is known about them as information on them was scarce at best only the fact that sometime ago there had been assassinations on the royal family members that has been the first clue as to why the monarchy in that country was deemed unstable as they say the country was ruled by a so called mad king.

And finally Romalia, or the Holy Romalian Empire which is an empire located to the south of Gallia. The first emperor was the Gravekeeper of Founder Brimir, and was also Brimir's apprentice. Due to its small size the emperors played up the religious fact and also adding to the fact that the emperor is also the Pope of the Brimiric faith religion to use the Church's power to overrule other countries' will if needed as the leaders of the Brimric nations were all descendants to Brimir, so they say. It is also pointed out in the older text books and tomes that there is a supposedly secret cache of weapons hidden within Romalia that contained weapons of some sort that it never explained. It is only said that it is Part of Brimir's will that they are to be collected and used against the Elves as he will bring more over time. Now that is intriguing, where would he get these weapons from he wonders, and why was this information lying around? shouldn't they have this censored?... He just might take a visit to Romalia to find out about this In the future.

"Hm… very interesting, but I think I've had enough time to gander trough these ancient books. I think I am up to date enough." He snaps the book shut and jumped off the table he was sitting on. he gave his legs a little stretch before he made his way towards the pink haired banshee's room, but not before walking past a quivering third year student.

"That'll be the last time you disturb my reading time. Don't you think so Raphael? "Gaunter leaned down to pat the poor boy on the head. The boy himself was the son of a rich nobleman of trisitainian blood who unwittingly just disturbed and insulted Gaunter by demanding him to leave as he is tainting this room of his filthy commoner presence. Gaunter responded by looking him in the eye and what he saw was anyone's guess as it was best to never know what he showed him. The boy however didn't respond as he had lost his mind to madness. Gaunter shrugged and walked off towards Louise's room, He has a contract to make.

* * *

Louise searched high and low, left and right, anywhere for any sign of her familiar. His disappearing act had made her go on a wild man hunt around Tristain academy all on her own as she refused to ask for anyone's help, not that most would as they would just laugh in her face like always. The search had taken all afternoon and into the evening. Louise even feared that he may have escaped the academy, but some of the helpful teachers and servants that were watching the gate replied that they have not seen any bald/shaved headed scruffy travelling peasant pass by.

Louise decided to call it a night as she exhausted herself out by the hunt for her blasted Familiar. As soon as she reached her dorm room and opened it, she was in for a great shock as sitting on the side of her bed facing her with one leg arched over the other and propping his arm up to support his head was the man responsible for her unnecessary chase around the academy.

"Ah! There you are Miss Vallière. I was beginning to wonder if you will even return. Tell me, did you enjoy your little goose chase?" Gaunter said in a wryly way.

Louise groaned in frustration and fell to her knees in defeat. "Familiar… where have you been?" she spoke in quiet but chilling voice but Gaunter was unaffected.

"Just a gander through the library of course. needed to learn what place I am dealing with. After all, knowledge and information are both tandem allies that is both sought after by many." He explained.

Louise was about to scold and discipline her familiar but she was too exhausted to go through all of that so she decided she will deal with it tomorrow. "Just for that act you pulled you will have no breakfast tomorrow… in fact, your lunch will be taken off too." She proclaimed.

"Hn!…what's a little hunger going to do ay." Gaunter chuckled to himself. Not that he really needed food, but the taste was always appreciated.

"N-… you know what never mind, I'm going bed and I'll deal with you tomorrow." Louise sighed in frustration and just wanted to drop face first on her comfortable bed.

"Before you do that, I need to discuss with you about our contract." He spoke in business mode.

"What are you talking about? The contract between mage and familiar is already done so the contract has already been sealed."

"Perhaps, but you didn't agree to my terms and conditions for my contract."

"What could a peasant possibly offer to a noble who has what she wants."

"Depends what you ask for? For a warrior it could be weapons supreme to all others, for mages it could be knowledge to surpass human limitations, for kings and queens it could be peace or power, and for nobles such as yourself it could be for power aswell but also wealth and success beyond their wildest dreams. But for you, you want neither of most of those things."

Louise was now sweating nervously by her brow.

"What you want is acceptance and success. To be finally accepted for just one chance at success so the whispers behind your back and the taunts and the jeers to cease. That is what you wish for, but your wish will not come true the way you want it to go. Your peers will not be convinced that you are indeed a mage and worthy of consideration. They will always see you as the Zero, the sad little girl they love to prey upon to appease their own sense of superiority over you." Gaunter explained while Louise dipped her head down in shame and misery, but her stubborn pride refused to accept it.

'This commoner dares to tell me that I have no chance of proving to everyone that I am worthy of being a mage!' she seethed at this commoner's cheek of daring to talk down to her like she was a hopeless cause. she stood away from the door and pointed out "Out! Get out! You will be sleeping outside tonight you disrespectful dog!" she raged at her familiar.

Gaunter's smile dropped and he responded by raising his hand and flicking his pointer and middle finger together. In response to the fingers flicking in the air, as if a sudden wind was blown the door slammed shut and locked itself.

 ***Slam!***

Louise Jumped up in fright as the sudden door slamming had caught her off guard and went into a state of brief shock at the act that her familiar had done.

"Do not interrupt me, I haven't explained the however part yet." He spoke to her chillingly before he put up the smiling merchant persona.

Louise couldn't believe it, just who did she summon? "y-y-you're a m-mage" she quivered.

"Oh please. No, I cannot stand spells… Childish hocus-pocus, it's just not interesting. What I do find interesting and fascinating are the true tales of true human lives, like the one you and your people appear to worship as if he is some sort of god." Gaunter scoffed.

"Founder Brimir you mean?"

"Yes him"

"Why do you sound like as if the name disgusts you?"

"Because I know of him personally, and I have met him."

"Impossible! That was over 6000 years ago."

"And yet here I am, but I never said I lived through it all."

"What do you mean?"

"I was not in your world by the time he rose to power due to someone double crossing me."

Louise then decided to ask the 1 million gold question. "who was he?"

"Who are you?" she asked him

The man in question smirked. "A mangy vagrant. Gaunter O'Dimm, at your service."

"A vagrant? Is that your profession?" Louise quirked her eyebrow as that is not really a profession to be proud of.

"Ah, I was once a merchant of mirrors. Hence the madding crowd dubbed me Master Mirror, or the man of glass."

"What is it you really do?"

"Ah… so you'd rather know what Is it that I really do?"

Louise nodded.

"in brief, I am someone who give folk what they ask for. you might say I simply grant them their wishes."

"Wishes?...You?"

"Indeed little louise, and I promise you this… I always give them what they want."

Suddenly the temptation began to swell in Louise's head and chest. There was certainly doubt as she thought that he could just be using her for a sick joke. But to hell with it, she will humour him a little while longer.

"Alright then, let's test this wish thing you were mentioning."

"Are you sure? I could ask for something in return as these things are not free you know?"

"Then I will pay them back. as a noble I must pay back all my debts owed to people and I never go against my word." she said proudly.

"Then by all means tell me what you want and I shall offer it to you in return." he grinned.

"I want the power to prove everyone wrong." she proclaimed.

Gaunter smiled as it was exactly what he predicted she will say, but she never specified her wish clearly enough, blame her own self blinding pride for that.

"Easily done. First you must sign this." He fished out a rolled up paper note that had terms and conditions written on it and a feather and ink was brought out along with it.

"Just sign your name and date of birth here and you are good to go."He smiled.

'Hm? Whatever is this for? Hmph! whatever let's just get this over with so I can go to bed.' Louise sniffed indignantly to herself and just signed her name and DOB on the lines under the large text labelled terms and conditions.

"And the deal has been sealed. Here you go." He smiled and brought out a vial of a glowing red potion.

"What is that?"

"A potion that will give you power that you so desperately crave and will fix your every problem with magic and it will give you the strength and courage to prove everyone that looked down on you wronged."

'Oh… well… that was easy, but still like that thing could possibly work just like that.' she scoffed inwardly and snatched the vial out of his hands and downed it in one and coughed and hacked at the bitterness causing her to drop the vial on the floor and it shattered. "What is that!?"

"Blood, but not just any blood, but the blood of an ancient one mixed with another set of blood from a special eace i managed to gather up and brew up a potion. now that you ingested the blood will your body go through changes to that of a mighty warrior… no... you will be a queen."

" _I never asked to be a queen, nor a warrior."_ she wheezed and gasped.

"No you didn't, but that Is what I am asking you to be as per the terms of the contact."

 _"What?"_

"People never read the terms and conditions do they? It just shows how blind and ignorant they can be. Always salivating at the possibilities of a juicy deal or product that they are always unaware of the requests that they must follow in return once given by the person who is handing out said deal.

" _You never told me…_ "

"No, but the paper of the terms and conditions were there for you to read. you just never bothered to read em. Blame your own ignorance and stubborn pride for that."

Louise snarled but then she collapsed as she felt a sharp sense of pain in her muscles, bones and the willpower in her body began to fluctuate uncontrollably.

"GAGH! What did you do! Eyargh!" she screamed in unbearable pain as if the muscles were reforming and tearing and the bones were being stretched and hardened.

"That would be the potion of blood doing its work for you. For a sixteen year old you are severely underdeveloped. If you want power you will need the body and the knowledge to go with it in order to achieve it."

Louise barely heard him after he said that and passed out from the pain while the blood potion went to work on her body."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Looks like you need more than conditioning in order for you to fulfil your end of the contract." Gaunter shook his head until he clapped his hands twice that seemed to echo everywhere.

 ***Clap! Clap!***

 **(Song end)**

* * *

Louise stirred awake as she felt a chilling breeze against her soft skin. She woke up and all she could feel was her muscles that were aching painfully and her bones groaning in agony. Her magic willpower felt… odd. It was as if she felt lighter and her senses heightened. She stood up on her unsteady feet and stretched herself to loosen herself from the aches and pains. But she noticed something that threw her off. Her arms were longer, even her legs. Not only were they longer but they had honest to Brimir muscle. They were muscular, but not those freakish muscles she would see on a brutish mercenary from Germania or something like that. These muscles were suited for athletic purposes even acrobatics/gymnastics and soldiers/warriors. She was taller which was another shock as she saw that she was about as tall as her sister Cattleya and Kirche at 5'7 with her oldest sister at 5'11. There were more muscles on her abdomen as she noticed that she had a six pack that didn't look too bulkish but still retained its softness on the skin, but the muscles can tense up into a solid defence for her abdomen. Another thing that was another added feature on her torso was…' I-i-i-i h-ha-have Breasts.' She stammered in her head. the breasts were a socking but not an unwelcomed feature as she was waiting desperately for these to form all her life as she was a late bloomer and Kirche had all of her attractive womanly features from an early age. Her breasts while not as big as Kirche's with it just below 94cm E cup breasts were just above her own 87cm D cup breasts. Her hair remained the same length before her sudden transformation as it now reached her mid back instead of her butt. Speaking of her bottom, that was now bigger and toned to perfection as it had both the softness yet packed muscle that held a lot of power within it as well as her thighs an lower legs that looked charming and pleasing to the eyes, yet deadly like a weapon ready to be used against any enemy.

Her clothes were switched with form fitting Leather trousers and a white button up shirt that was also form fitting as her the top part of her buttons were undone and her chest was constrained inside of the shirt.

While she was checking herself out and poking her body of all the added features and conditioning of her body especially her muscles and her chest. She was bought out of her curios touchy habit when the voice of the man responsible echoed around the area she was in.

" **I see you like your gift I see."** Gaunter spoke in amusement.

"Gyah!" she shrieked in fright and instinctualy covered her chest which strangely felt satisfying of being able to do that. "Fa-Familiar!? W-what just happened?"

" **You ingested the potion I have made for you and now you have the body and the power to conquer."**

"You mean I have the power to obtain respect from my peers?"

" **In a sense, but there will be those that will not accept who you are. Whether your appearance has changed or not, to them you are still Louise the Zero."**

Louise Clenched her fist as it did make sense for them to do that.

" **As the saying goes, old habits die hard."**

"So what was the point in all of that then? Why give me this body if my peers won't accept me for who I am?"

" **To gain acceptance is to fight for it Louise, and as for why I have given you this body? well let's just I have a job for you as per the terms for you to keep your body and powers."**

"Powers? I have magic?"

" **You always had Louise, it's just that those fools couldn't see it. it seems you have awakened your powers but with an added boost from the blood potion that you have gained something more powerful."**

"So what element do I have then?"

" **The lost element,void."**

"What! T-t-t-t that's impossible!"

" **Entirely possible Louise, how else do you think that you create explosions out of nothing. Void is both the creation from nothingness and the destruction into nothingness. But void has tandem allies that are closely related…time and space."**

"Time and space?"

" **You will learn soon enough, but for now I will explain the terms and conditions of what you must do as you just simply ignored it and no you cannot revert the contract as I hate people who don't pay back their debts and go against their words. As to what you said "As a noble, I must pay back all my debts owed to people and I never go against my word." End quote."** His voice echoed wryly.

Louise flinched at the irony of using her own words against her and she did not know what he could possibly want in return, for her sake, pride and honour she hoped it wasn't anything perverted or lecherous…. 'Wait a minute? Then who changed my clothes?' she thought until her thoughts were interrupted.

" **Now for the Terms I want you to do. But first I shall go back to the topic of my fascination of true human tales. Like the one I shall tell you now. It's about a man worse than any man you could ever meet. He is an absent-minded genius, but had a heart of stone. A despicable man who refuses to pay his debts and is a power-hungry thief."** He told his tale.

"Why would this interest me, what's this man got to do with everything?"

" **It has everything to do with you and every human in this world, but he has wronged me and several other races that are either driven out from these lands or have been driven to extinction all in the name of that man. His name is Brimir Ru Rumiru Yuru Viri Vee Varutori."**

"The Founder! But why? He was the man who-"

" **Founded the magic system yes I know. But he was not the founder of the caste system of the royal monarchies and the nobility caste. No, it was the human mages who followed him who did that after his death. Brimir did not really plan ahead of what happened next after his death but it was primarily his fault on why the place is so corrupted. And who do you think it was who gave him that power hmm?"** Gaunter explained to Louise who was about to be hyperventilating.

Louise's yes widened as she realised his meaning, but she couldn't accept it but logic was starting to overpower her stubborn beliefs in the founder.

" **Indeed you are right Louise. I was the one who granted Brimir when he was nothing but a small orphaned child living amongst barbaric tribes. When I first laid eyes on him he was nought but a small naïve idealistic boy who wanted things to change, so I offered him a long term deal. He would unite the tribes and lead them in an age of prosperity of furthering civilisation. Well… the mood I was in at the time was really generous even for me. I was actually so fascinated that I wanted to witness something great that only the humans could achieve in such short time. But in a few years' time when Brimir had achieved the first steps of the deal of uniting the lands… well he only united the humans for some reason. it turns out that Brimir only intended to unite the human tribes to rise against the other tribes that consisted of non-human races like the elves, the Dwarves and the Beastmen."**

"I-i-I know of the elves, but I thought that the dwarves and the beastmen were myths?"

" **They are now to the people of Halkeginia, but they prefer to isolate themselves far away from the humans now. Brimir himself went against the agreement we made to unify ALL tribes, but what did he do next? He declared war on the other races especially the elves."**

"But the elves are a vile malicious race that were driving humans to extinction six millennia ago."

" **That's what Brimir and the church wants you to believe Louise. The elves as I remembered them were technologically more advanced than the humans that made some of them arrogant and little bit bigoted towards the humans yes, but some were sympathetic towards humans and that they helped some of the tribes that were suffering from sickness, drought and even poverty and famine. Even the other races had been neutral to sometimes friendly terms with some of the other human tribes. When Brimir was just a man his heart grew colder and formed to stone as his love for anything else faded except his avarice, lust for power and envy of the technology and magic the elves had that he and the rest of the humans did not have. I warned him not to start any conflicts with the elves as I was on friendly terms with a few of them, But Brimir turned away from the deal and declared war on the other non-human tribes, committing genocide after genocide of many innocents. He even lied that he regretted slaughtering many innocents that were of other races, even his own race that rebelled against him for slaughtering their non-human friends and even lovers, and he dared to call it necessary deaths all for the sake of humanity. By the time i heard of the atrocities this man had done, he wronged me even further by using my gift against me as he figured a way to banish me from this realm and prevent me from re-entering for six thousand years. So I have you to thank for that, and now I have need for your help."**

"Bu-but… he gave us a gift to learn magic." She whispered in shock.

" **Come now Louise... Brimir did teach the humans his magic, but the only lessons he intended for his blind loyal sheep was to follow and obey him and enforce his idealisms into many humans to start an era of forced peace through power and oppression. All this happened after his familiar who was actually a lovely Elven lass named Sasha ran him through with the sword he had made for her. Well that is all I know but the reason as to why she did it is only half true in the books.**

 **After Brimir's death, his followers and the rest of the human mages gathered or separated to form up their own countries elsewhere. Each leader or noble were just as fanatic to Brimir when he was still alive and they constructed kingdoms and a holy empire all in his name…except one country, Germania. They weren't as loyal to the Brimiric faith but they weren't considered to be part of the four Brimiric nations. The kings, queens and noble mages had made great nations for themselves, but what did the common people get?… nothing. They never got any of the benefits that the mages had, and instead they were left ignored and unappreciated while they were forced to make a living and provide food, resources and materials for their noble masters only to be left ignored and unappreciated with minimal wages that was barely enough to buy food that will last a week. What's worse was that Nobles these days are so arrogant that they believe that they are above the justice system of the law that was supposed to account for everyone, but no it too was corrupted and abused by the nobility to benefit the nobles in getting away with petty crimes and even the worst crimes such as murder and rape of the innocent of the lower class."**

"Tha-That's not true!" Louise pressed her hands on her ears as she did not want to listen any further, but Gaunter's voice echoed inside her head.

" **Don't delude yourself Louise. This is the truth of your world. Granted that not every noble or mage is as bad as I make them out to be, but their pride and ignorance still doesn't spare them from this. The royalty that are tasked to help the country and its people and that accounts to the lower class are also not spared from this. Some are evil, and some are ignorant, or some could have good intentions but are mostly being kept in the dark or being manipulated for the role of a puppet/ figurehead for the greedy nobility."**

'No!...Henrietta's not like that. she is strong and kind.' She told herself as she refused to believe that her childhood friends was that sort of person.

" **I think we should wrap things up for now. Your stubbornness in accepting the truth I will admit is commendable but rather annoying, but not impossible to convince you otherwise. But that is not the main reason as to why I brought you here. In case if you haven't noticed your surroundings.** " Said Gaunter as he indicated her surroundings.

 **(Play Boards of Canada: Gemini)**

Louise lifted her head and too k a look at her surroundings. She was at her home, her family's mansion. And she was sitting in her boat that she always used to go to when she was sad. But the scenery was darker and also looked quite dead. The mansion looked abandoned and the garden was overgrown. The trees were barren of any leaves and water in the lake had dulled into a grey colour of murkiness. The wood of the boat had dulled and decayed. The sky was dark but the moon was shimmering blood red. The stars were absent in the night sky and so were the clouds. The wind howled like a wailing siren.

"Wh-What is this place? this can't be my home."

" **Technically it is, but you are in a different dimension parallel to this one. You see… a pandemic happened in this world and it consumed every living person to be cursed and transformed every living thing into these eternal malicious beasts that hunger for the flesh of the living. These cursed beings ravaged the world and annihilated every living person into extinction. They still live to this day searching for living humman prey, their hunger making them more violent and desperate for a meal despite that they have hunted down every last one."**

"But why have you brought me here?"

"Simple… to train."

"Wha…."

" **If you are going to fulfil my end of the deal, you are going to need this training in order to complete every term I have made for you. As to what your training regimen is … I will give you a few lessons that I have left for you somewhere in these lands that you will need to find."**

"But what if I get killed?"

" **Then you will start again from the beginning, oh and all your items, weapons and armour you have collected will be returned to the same spot but it will be marked on your map."**

"Why are you doing this to me?" she shivered in fear and tears were pooling out of her eyes.

" **To make you learn the harder and more effective way into making you a legend in the making. Halkeginia has long since waited for a wake up call into the real world, and you shall be the one who will lead on the revolution of change."**

"Who are you really?"

" **Gaunter O'Dimm. Master mi-"**

"That's not what I am asking. What are you really? A demon?" she demanded answers.

" **Do you really wish to know?"**

"…Yes"

" **No, louise. You don't. All who have learnt my true name are now either dead or have met an even worse fate. Yet I shall spare you as I still need you."**

"You are… pure evil." she shivered in fear.

" **I have been called worse names, but I like to think of myself as necessary evil. After all I believe Brimir and all of his followers deserve punishment for double-crossing me and for their evil acts don't you think?"**

Louise shivered in fear as the chilling voice echoed all around and still no sign of Gaunter.

" **And before I forget, Here is a little gift to remember me by for your stay here."** Gaunter said before Louise could feel a searing pain on the left side of her face just under her left eyes as if something had been burnt on her face by using a hot iron. After the burning sensation passed, she raised her hand and touched her beautiful soft face that has now scarred been by the markings that made her wince. **(Same markings that on Geralt's face throughout the Hearts of stone expansion pack)**

"Aaaggh! What is that!" she screamed in pain."

" **A mark to show that we're… associates or partners if you would like."** Gaunter smirked. **"Oh… and you can have this back."**

Louise screamed again as another mark had been seared into her flesh. This time it was a familiar rune… for familiars.

"Wha!...No! No you cannot do this to me!" Louise pleaded with Gaunter. as branding her with her own familiar runes was incredibly shameful.

" **I can and already have done little louise. You should thank me for that actually, because that rune is the Gandalfr rune the one that one of Brimir's familiar Sasha used to have. This rune gives the user the ability to use any object that has the sole intention to be used as a weapon or have the capabilities to be used as a weapon to expert levels. Once the runes activate your physical abilities and senses are significantly heightened."**

"What about my magic?"

" **You still have that but you no longer need your wand, too primitive. I have made you into something so much better than that."**

"Are you saying that I no longer need my Wand to cast spells?"

" **Precisely… Your body is now the main primary component for cast spells. Wands are now unnecessary, but it can still be an optional use if you want to do things discreetly, but without the wand your magic is so much more powerful."**

"But how do I use it without blowing things up?"

" **Your explosive magic nature is a part of you, learn how to control that first before you move onto the other elements, but when you do learn how to control your power, there are more spell scrolls scattered throughout these barren wasted lands for you to learn and harness. But you must also learn how to use your own body as a weapon as willpower is limited while you stamina is what keeps your body going. So learn to balance between the two.**

 **Oh and I believe I haven't told you what to do yet haven't i? Well… all you need to do is find a mirror."**

"A mirror?... What kind?"

" **Your mirror…Find it and you shall be released from this world"** Gaunter answered.

Louise nodded and stood up with a somewhat brave face being put up.

" **Atta girl Louise, but you may want to get out of there. I hear them coming."** Gaunter warned her.

Louise jumped in fright as she heard an inhuman screech. She turned around she saw apparition and silhouettes of a horde running through the dead and misty forest.

 **"Next time don't be so loud, or else you will attract unwanted attention upon yourself. Good luck Louise and you shall see me soon…. Oh and don't worry about the academy as no matter the time you spend searching and training in this world, it will be tomorrow morning at 7:00Am by the time you return. Bye for now little Louise."** Gaunter told the last pieces of information before he gave out a small chuckle before the connection cut off.

And it all went silent except the noise of the oncoming horde rushing towards her position.

"Wa-Wait! Gaunter! Please! Don't leave me here!" she screamed, she cried and she pleaded for him to release her from this nightmare. She looked behinf her and noticed the horde coming ever closer. She noticed that by her feet was a sword, a Saber of some kind (Oferi Saber). She picked it up ignoring her pride trying to prevent her from using the sword as it was barbaric for a mage and a noble to be using commoner weapons. And she ran off the boat and onto dry land and ran for her home.

She rushed inside and barricaded the door with whatever she could find and rushed upstairs. "Mother! Father! Cattleya! Sister Éléonore! Where are you!?" she rushed into every room but every room was left abandoned like every room in the mansion estate. Every room was a mess like it had been ransacked and there had been signs of a struggle and dried blood had been spilt everywhere. Time had also enough evidence that that the mansion was decaying overtime as the dust and the cobwebs had built up over time that showed that it had been years since it was last touched.

" _No_ " she whispered " _I'm all alone."_

And then she heard the creatures break into the mansion by forcing the doors open or even diving straight through the windows and ran through every room to search for their prey.

Just then the words of Gaunter O'Dimm echoed inside her head. **"Your mirror. Find it and you shall be released from this world"** Louise's grip had been tightened on the grip and she turned to face down the corridor that led to the main lobby and the stair case As she awaited for these intruders.

"I will find it… I will not give in… I will get stronger… I will return home!" she gritted her teeth and steeled her resolve and got into a sword stance as the runes glowed and fed her head and body information of a sword style used by some people unknown to her.

As soon as the first cursed monster appeared from the stair case and charged down the corridor she took off like charging cavalry fully intent to fight her way out.

"AAAAARGHHH!" she roared out a war cry similar to how her mother used to back in her days in the military and she sliced through the hordes of the undead cursed humans. She kept going and going as the hordes kept on coming.

And then the mansion erupted in explosions.

 **(Song end)**

* * *

Gaunter smiled to himself 'Good… she is finally learning. She's a Quick learner too…. Oooh the anticipation is making me a bit impatient. I think I should take a walk. I think maybe I should give her a gift, let's see what Romalia has that can compensate for it. he lifted himself up from louise's bed and left Louise's room by the door. he remembered to lock and he went on his way. He walked down the corridor with his hands in his pockets and whistle tuning his lips.

(Gaunter O'Dimm's Whistle.)

When Gaunter left the corridor, Tabitha watched from her door with cautious eyes. She then closed the door to go to sleep. She will look into him another day.

 **(Chapter 1 End)**

 **(Omake: What Raphael saw)**

He blinked, as he could've sworn he was in the libary demanding that filthy peasent to leave the esteemed library.

"Where am i?" He wondered and felt a nervous chill as he found himself in a bedroom. only that it wasn't his own, but a rather gothic and dark bedroom that the archetecture on the walls and the bed frame were metallic and cold stone. the bed sheets were pitch black as night. and the sky outside was like it was on fire.

and then he heard heavy metallic foot steps booming towards the bedroom door and it slammed open.

what greeted him was a terrifying visage of a appears as a tall, monstrous Man wearing black, priest-like robes and a helm that bears the words "Lammen Gorthaur" or Abhored Dead. his helmet covered most of his face with only his horribly disfigured and diseased mouth visible. his teeth looked as if it could tear flesh off easily.

For some reason music out of nowhere started to play that was unheard of to the third year, but it was made worse when the tall monstrous being started to sing it in a low demonic and beastly growl.

(Play the Mouth of Suron sings the Ding Ding song)

 **"Oh...you touch my tra la la**

 **Mmm...my ding ding dong"**

The boy shrieked and ran across to the corner of the room shaking in his boot as the monsterous man walked ever closer.

 **"Deep in the night  
I'm looking for some fun  
Deep in the night  
I'm looking for some love"**

 **"** NOOOOOOOOOO!" and he was never heard from again.

The end!

Gaunter O'Dimm: "you've got to love the internet sometimes"


	2. Chapter 2: give the Devil his Due

**Give the Devil his Due**

 **(Somewhere in Romalia: Secret Weapon's Cache)**

A 32 year old Priest had been given the task of guarding the weapon's cache or God's Armoury or toy box as it was called over the years since the storage room had been created. The Storage room was actually a gigantic underground storage warehouse where it was used to stockpile weapons found all over Halkeginia and the Sahara desert. long ago Their founder casted a continuous portal spell that will bring them new weapons every so often, even at random which proved to be quite troublesome as they never knew where the next weapon would land next so they had to collect it quickly before anyone else with ulterior motives could figure out the uses of such weapons, even the commoners.

Nobody knew where these weapons came from, or what most of them actually do. Some were simple designs that they knew by first glance like, different swords that were foreign to them like the single edged sabre like weapon that looked incredibly strong and deadly and the pommel was made out of this cloth like woven design that looked amazing to behold. Then there were cannons that were oddly shaped and they had no idea where the fuse was or how to load it, even the barrel design baffled them as the inside of the barrel was done in a spiral. There were giant rods of metal like arrows with fins on the end that confused them of what was its purpose or how to fire it? There were muskets that were smaller, lighter or heavier and larger and made out of well-crafted metal or wood and some other unknown materials used in crafting such strange weapons, but the design confused them still as they did not know how to load or operate it. Then there were these iron Elephant like carts that had long trunks but weird wheels with metal sheets covering them and other metal carts that looked too heavy for a simple horse to pull. Then there were these metal birds or dragons that looked more like statues or a hunk of iron than actual weapons. Just what was Brimir thinking of sending such weird looking weapons, what was their purpose?

Despite the confusion of not knowing how the weapons work, they were not allowed to use it. As decreed by the church, they were forbidden until the chosen time where the prophecy of the void mage and his/her familiar the Gandalfr that would soon return, and until then the cache was to remain guarded and remain under secrecy. The punishment of stealing one of these weapons was instant execution no questions asked and branded as a traitor to the church and the faith so nobody will question their decisions.

The priest himself had worked for the church all his life at the age of 15 years old. He never achieved much in his career as a priest or ascended to greatness or anything like that, but he was content with the way things were as his loyalty remained strong for the church. His job however while interesting, was boring though. It was the same routine every single year of watching these weapons. The weapons weren't going anywhere as they all had self-preservation spells on them that will protect them from the rust and decay overtime, and there hasn't been a single break in or stolen weapon from the stockpile since this warehouse had been established.

"Everything seems to be in order…again." He sighed and mumbled to himself as his exhaustion was taking a toll on him. "Another guard shift well done." Said the priest whilst rubbing his tired eyes. The priest himself was hired as the guard for a reason as he was part of the Romalion inquisition order. The elite holy guards of the Vatican that protect the Pope and the holy church of Brimir whose primary focus was a peace keeping force to combat heresy against the founder or to keep the peace amongst the other four Brimiric nations.

He rubbed the tiredness from his eyes and proceeded to walk up to the main staircase that leads up to the surface. Before he left he turned to raise his wand and extinguish all of the candles in the room and then proceed on his way.

 ***Clap! Clap!***

A loud clap echoed through the halls of the warehouse, and then everything proceeded to slow down and the priest froze on the spot as time had frozen him in place. Everything had frozen, even the small wisps of smoke from the candles remained still in the air.

Footsteps echoed in the storeroom revealing from behind a pillar was Gaunter O'Dimm himself, and he was intrigued by the treasures he found.

"What have we here?... I know this is not the work of Brimir, even though I can smell his magic is behind their appearance into this world. If I were to make a guess then all these weapons came from Earth, or Terra as the old Latin language called it. Now these people know how to make weapons in a short period of time and they didn't dawdle around as long as these fool and sloths did. Although I don't seem to recognise some of these weapons as some of them seem to be new and odd looking, but I can figure it out in no time at all. I think this would make a splendid return gift for dear Louise I believe, so I will just take all of it. You don't mind do you Brimir?... of course you don't as you always take without asking don't you? So I will proceed to take everything you own as repayment for all those years you banished me for and messed about with my gift that did not belong to you." He grinned as he proceeded to take out a large black and silver metal case with a well-crafted lock as the emblem on the case. He placed it on the ground and opened it to have a bright light consuming everything in the warehouse of every single weapon from large to small leaving nothing but air and dust behind. As soon as the light died down, gaunter sealed the case and lifted the case by his side and left from where he came which was a portal behind the pillar that covered his view from the priest that turned his back towards him. He walked through the portal that would teleport him back to the academy, but before he went completely through the portal both his arms and his hands reappeared from the portal only to clap together to disable the time skill and disappeared through the portal and the portal sealed up leaving no evidence of its existence.

As soon as the clap sounded everything turned back to normal and the Priest had an uneasy feeling as he swore he could've just heard a clap in a brief instant of a second. He turned around and noticed that everything seemed to be more spacious than the last time he looked through the stockpile. curiosity getting the better of him he raised his wand to light all the candles in the room by each pillar one by one… he got the greatest shock in all of his life as one by one each pillar illuminated a section of the warehouse that stockpiles the weapons only to have said weapons missing.

'Impossible!... how could it be? I-I-I-I only turned my back for a few seconds, just how!?..." his mind was in disarray until the logical part returned and told him that he must inform the church of this absurd incident.

* * *

 **(Four hours later. Meeting chamber, the great Romalian Cathedral of Brimir, Romalian capital of Roma)**

Today was an important day for the cathedral as Pope Vittorio Serevare had convened an official meeting with the Holy council of Romalia. The council itself consisted of some of the most influential Cardinals and archbishops and some of the most influential clergymen in the lands had all gathered at the council chamber to discuss either news of what is happening in their own countries as every cardinal based in every country is attending the meeting, or new polices to enact in their own cathedral or in their own countries, or to discuss new threats like the current threat rising in Albion. Currently most of the more influential religious figures based in Albion were absent for the meeting and had gone quiet, but rumours were pointing towards them joining the rebellion faction of Reconquista under Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell, the leader of the rebellion was once the churches' biggest supporters. He is a highly fanatical worshipper of the Brimiric faith and highly loyal to the faith. Lately he had been causing chaos and grief in his own country as he rounded up the nobles against the royal family and wiping them out, Starting with Albion's king.

The Church was not happy about that as they needed Ablion's king and the royal family to keep the status quo as it is, and now Reconquista had killed most of them off therefore they were upsetting the established order formed by Brimir's ancestors and Brimir himself for their genocide of the Albion royal family and domination over the nation. Now that they lost one of their allies (puppets), if the Reconquista wins the war by killing off the last royal family member Prince Wales Tudor then they will be forced to deal with an unruly newly formed established government that will undermine their authority and therefore will have to be eliminated and the country liberated back to the way things were. Nobody really knew what the plans were after Reconquista's victory and dominance over the sky island country, but it would also spill over onto the mainland.

But then all of a sudden the meeting screeched to a halt as the priest that had been left in charge of the armoury burst into the council chamber with a look of panic on his face. "Your Holiness!"

"How dare you burst into here without authorisation Father Marco!" a cardinal burst into outrage at the audacity of the priest." And why aren't you at your post!?"

"I had to leave it as there is a matter of grave importance that I must tell his holiness!" Marco insisted to which it left the cardinal fuming that he blatantly ignored his superior and was about to retort until the pope beat him to it.

"Let him speak Cardinal Giovani" Pope Vittorio spoke calmly and with authority as the look he gave him made him sit back in his seat and shut up. "What is it you have to report Father Marco?"

"There's been a break in and a robbery." He said while he found it much harder to speak as sweat was now pouring down his fore head.

"You mean you have come all this way to tell us that the armoury has been broken into?" said Vittorio who was sitting in his throne with a calm persona on his face.

"Yes your Holiness." He nodded

"What was taken from the armoury?"

"…Everything" Marco gulped down as he answered the question and waited for the inevitable outrage."

"…WHAT!" the whole chamber burst into an upheaval uproar of outraged, panicking and shell shocked clergymen and religious leaders who in that moment lost their persona that made them the highly respected holy men of the high church.

"That's impossible!"

"Do not joke around here Father Marco!"

"Enough!" Vittorio's voice of authority and his hand rose to silence the council "i have no reason to not ignore any of my trusted men's reports. He came all the way here and interrupting this meeting is proof of that. Therefore I believe his reasons for coming here."

"Thank you your holiness." Marco said gratefully."

"How did that thief get in though?"

"I… am not entirely sure on how he got in as I rushed out as soon as I saw everything gone."

"Then what were you doing prior before this happened? You had one job and that was to keep those weapons blessed to us by our lord and saviour safe and secure and in your ignorance they have been stolen by this heretic thief."

"I don't even know how it happened because it happened on the last minute of my guard shift. I had my back turned and as soon as I reached the exit I heard someone clapping twice."

"Someone was there? Then why didn't you stop that person!" an old bishop thumped his armrest with his fist.

"Because that person was already gone by the time I turned around and saw everything taken in the armoury in a blink of an eye! Whoever that person was is very powerful to have stolen everything in a matter of a few seconds." Marco explained.

"Could it have been Foquet?"

"No, i highly doubt it. she would've left a message behind written on the walls and would always leave a mess behind. this one is better as he went in and out in matter of seconds" Marco explained his report

Vittorio leaned back into his throne he reached with a shaky hand towards his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. Everything seemingly was going wrong today, this was not how he envisioned his reign on the seat of the pope, the pinnacle of power in Halkeginia even higher than a mere king or queen in the Brimiric nations.

"This is most troubling indeed… Julio." He called out to his human familiar.

"Yes your Holiness?" Julio stepped out of the shadows beside Vittorio's throne.

"I want you to investigate this further and round up every inquisitor to search for our missing weapon/relic stockpile.

"It will be done your Holiness."

"As for you…" he turned towards father Marco with his eyes now turned ice cold "Your failure will not be spared. You have failed the church and our lord Brimir. Send him to the chambers." Vittorio snapped his fingers and out came several inquisitor guards all dressed in ornate white and gold armour with golden covered steel weapons on them as they surrounded the priest and seized him and dragged him off to the chambers where everyone who failed or betrayed the chuch was to be put to the torture chambers.

"No…nononnono by Brimir no! you cannot do this to me!"Marco cried out for mercy.

"We can and it is already done father Marco. You shall spend the rest of your days to repent for your sins and your failures against the church and our lord and founder Brimir." Vitorio told him with a tone of coldness and indifference.

"17 years! I have pledged my loyalty for 17 years and this is how you repay me! Your mother was right to have tried to keep you away from the seat of power for it has corrupted your humanity and your senses. She always was wiser than you; she was more deserving of the seat of the pope than you will ever be!" Marco roared out his defiance to which Vittorio almost lost it.

"Do not mention my heretic of a mother in front in my presence ever again, for that you shall be receiving twice… no three times the punishment dealt to you for your insolence." The pope scowled as his calm and indifferent expression dropped from his face into an ugly scowl.

After a few more frustrated and cussing outcries from Marco a few snorts of disgust came from the arch bishops and the cardinals. "A woman as the pope? Absurd! Women have no place here!" Said one Arch bishop in particular who thought very little of that possibility of it happening.

"Now is not the time for expressing your views arch bishop, we have more important matters now to discuss now that we are in a state of emergency." Vittorio dismissed the petty squabbling and rounded up the religious leaders into a long and arduous discussion of planning and scheming in order to figure up of ways of tracking down their missing weapon's cache that lasted long into the night.

But unknown to them was that the weapon's had long since left Romalia.

* * *

 **(Unknown Pocket dimension)**

A special dimension had been formed specially to hold and store up the entire collected weapon's the man of glass had found in that hidden stockpile, the weapons he found were certainly impressive to say the least. While he had never visited Earth in past few centuries, he could tell that they had advanced quite a lot in that small time frame where most places he had visited had barely done in a thousand years.

He set up the armoury into a neat and orderly file ranging from standard close quarter melee weapons such as, swords and other sorts of blades, axes, maces, spears, and all sorts of alternative types of weapons from common swords to exotic types and some looked custom made and yet some looked as if they could not be held by a normal human and required the strength of a demon.

Then there were these strange weapons that O'Dimm found fascinating. He deduced that this weapon was the evolution of the ranged weapon starting from a simple bow and then to the cross bow and then eventually it ended up with this strange piece of iron and wood. All it needed was this ingredient called black powder, or gunpowder as it was commonly called. The world he was in has this black powder that they use for bombs and they always stack them in these red barrels and he chuckled as those humans could've had such a devastating weapon just at their fingertips if they bothered to learn more of its capabilities.

Gaunter had all the time in the world or the universe to study these weapons and fortunately he didn't have to take long as the Gandalfr rune that he copied and adopted the power for his own use and modified to feed him information about the weapon. He placed his hand on one of these weapons that was called a gun or an assault rifle by its technical term/name. The runes fed him information of how it was made and all of its specifications and uses.

"The Kalashnikov assault rifle or more commonly known as the AK-47. It was first invented in 1947 which was a few years after the second world war ended, and it entered the Soviet Army's service in 1949 and it was pioneered by a man named Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov. The rifle itself is one of if not the most notorious weapon in Earth's history accounting for millions of deaths over the years. The weapon itself can be modified to a far greater degree than any other assault rifle. The most effective range for this weapon is 300 meters or more but it can also be an accurate weapon at that distance. Its penetration power far surpasses any crossbow I have ever seen, it can go through walls and hits anybody that is on the other side and can pierce through sheets of iron and steel plate armour with ease. And it is also the most reliable weapon system as it can operate in many environments without suffering any damage or faults due to the condition of the weapon usage." He observed and analysed this peculiar weapon that was actually considered to be an old weapon in Earth standards, but here? It was well maintained as the Romalian mages must've put up preserving magic to maintain the condition of these weapons over the years.

This weapon was a revolutionary masterpiece; this weapon by itself can devastate entire armies by itself and still be able to shoot a thousand rounds more. The statistics of this weapon was insane as he knew of the power this weapon held as the runes also shown him its own history. It had fought in a couple of wars and was still used in some other minor conflicts and the power it held simply punched through brick walls of stone and metal sheets like it was butter.

He could imagine the other guns he acquired had similar yet different traits about them like this AK here as there were smaller one handed L shaped weapons with a smaller projectile in its chamber as the part of the weapon was called. Then there were these large and heavy weapons that require two hands or two people to operate, can be used while moving or could only be used as stationary only. Some were meant for close range while others were meant for long distant shooting about two miles away believe it or not. Some weapons were simply destructive to a whole new level and the weapons here made the normal standard siege weapons he had seen look worthless in comparison to these siege weapons he was now seeing.

These mobile carts made entirely out of steel that can also move by itself. It also had a long tube on the top of a upturned metal barrel or some sort. It was actually a larger gun that fired a round meant for anti-armour situations or anti structure warfare. That weapon itself could easily kill a giant mountain troll from Skellige or a royal wyvern in one shot if given the chance, but in order for them to move they need this liquid that Gaunter managed to find in a large metal can called a Jerry can that was still preserved. The liquid itself was called Petroleum which was a chemical liquid or fuel source in order to move this metal beast around.

"How very fascinating these weapons are. Such interesting history these weapons have… but I think I've had enough time to study these weapons. I think I should go check up on Louise now." He said before clicking a finger and a portal appeared. "Portals are unpredictable things yes, but they lead you to countless places ripe for the adventure. Shame one particular Witcher doesn't seem to agree with that statement." He said before walking through to the other side and back to the magic academy's courtyard where it was six in the morning and the sun was just about to ride up over the hills.

Gaunter walked out of the portal and it disappeared into nothingness and he simply walked no towards the tower feeling upbeat about seeing the results of his work.

"Not long now." He hummed to himself. He reached the dorm rooms where Louise and the rest of the female students were sleeping at. The students were not awake yet and the servants were busy rushing around for their early morning shifts in order to prepare for another day of serving their ungrateful and overly spoilt noble masters.

Speaking of servants, there was one servant that stood out from the rest. She obviously was not native to this country and looked rather familiar from a certain place he visited long ago. This young woman was a determined worker but she had no courage to stand up for herself which makes her an easy target to torment, but pretty much nearly every commoner servant is like that. They have not say and are treated unfairly in this biased system that favours the few mages rather than the many non-magical humans.

He figured that Louise would be really hungry and would need fresh and new clothes and a bath to sort out her hunger, growth spurts and hygiene after the transformation. She would no doubt be absolutely famished after her training session. All of her clothes would not fit her so he would have to look for new and fresh clothes that are in her size, and Louise was soaking in sweat during the transformation so she would have to take a bath somewhere. Luckily he had found a maid/servant girl who looked helpful enough to complete these simple tasks.

"Excuse me miss?" he approached her from behind and she jumped up from her daydreaming and dusting an expensive vase that was n top of a stand in one of the hallways.

"Kyaa!" She squealed in fright as her body jumped up in fright and her feather duster knocked over the expensive vase and was about to crash on the floor until Gaunter caught it. Gaunter effortlessly caught it with one hand and brought it up to his face.

"Hmmm, these nobles and their love for gaudy and extravagant items" he inspected the priceless vase decorated in some gold and gems that made him look at it feeling quite unimpressed by the craftsmanship. "Hn… seen better." he placed it back on the stand without a care and quite roughly as it landed on the stand with a bang and the bottom of the vase cracked

"My lord! The vase!" her face paled white in shock as the expensive vase that worth 5 times more than her salary had been damaged. But the man in front of her smiled without a care.

"Woops butterfingers" He chuckled." what shall I do?… oh I know I will replace it with another, I doubt anybody will notice." He smiled as he reached into his bag and fished out a black vase as dark as the night. Outlined and patterned with real gold and in the centre of the vase was a shape on an eye with a silver iris. "Much better don't you think" he nodded in appreciation and turned towards the maid who was staring at it in awe.

"What is it?"

"Just a souvenir I acquired from my travels." He chuckled in amusement at her awe.

"But won't the nobles notice something as or more expensive than the other vase?"

As soon as she said that, Gaunter placed it back on the pedestal and it changed into the same colour and design as the old one.

"They might, but only if they look hard enough to spot the difference." He quipped while enjoying the reaction he got from the servant girl.

"Now, I didn't come here to show off and chat about broken vases… I am in need of your assistance miss…"

"Ah! I-it's siesta of Tarbes my lord." She stood up straight while she said it a bit meekly.

'hmm… no backbone, fully timid about my presence … no, she is scared of nobility because she thinks my tricks are magic related thus it instantly makes me a noble in her eyes.' Gaunter analysed and shook his head.

"Oh come now Siesta, I'm no lord, just a mangy vagrant, or a wandering tradesman. Gaunter O'Dimm at your service." He did a polite bow in front of the young woman who in turn went a bit embarrassed with him bowing to her."

"B-But you just did magic just now… how are you a commoner like me if you just did magic?"

"It was just nothing but an illusion my dear, the trick came from the vase itself. I'm no mage nor am I a noble, can't stand those pompous fools."

She jumped up in fright and looked around her surroundings if anyone had heard what he said.

"Mister O'Dimm you can't just say something like that here!" as he tried to hush Gaunter and make him stop his open insults in public in case anyone had heard.

"Gaunter will do just fine siesta, and why not?"

"Because the Nobles will punish you if you were to slander and insult them in public." Siesta said in a bit of a wild panic and concern about this Stranger's well-being while she had only known him for a few minutes.

"I thank you for your concern but you needn't worry about me, I can take care of myself just fine." Gaunter offered her one of his comforting smiles that always seemed to calm down any frantic girls when they are in a state of panic and fear which had worked like a charm as Siesta had calmed down and stopped her fidgeting and muttering out her paranoia every few seconds when she saw his comforting smile. Her face had lit up like a ripened strawberry, this moment reminded her of that one scene in her erotica books where the noble prince comforts the maid girl in her moment of distress, and a few pages later it soon evolved into some very raunchy and they definitely got dow-….

"Siesta?" Gaunter waved her hand in front of her face. Which snapped Siesta out of her pervy daydreaming. "Y-Yes!" she stood ramrod straight at the closeness Gaunter was as her face lit up like wildfire in embarrassment and something else that she felt deep down.

"I would like your assistance please." He asked her politely.

Siesta shook her head from all the pervy thoughts invading it and went back into her helpful maid mind-set. "Is there something you need mas- Gaunter!" she cursed to herself mentally at that near slip up.

Gaunter raised his eyebrow curiously but decided to ignore her shenanigans and went down to business. "I would like you to prepare some fresh clothes in these sizes, could you do that?" he gave her a note of specific sizes, female sizes. "

Siesta eyed the note curiously as the fresh clothes that were being requested were female uniforms only. "Wh-what for exactly Gaunter-san"

'San?' Gaunter filed that honorific for later as he knows he had heard that from somewhere. "It's for a dear friend of mine who will be coming round soon. And I would also like fresh towels prepared as well and the bathing house prepared too."

"I-I Can't do all of that now, I have more jobs that need doing and I am not authorised to set up the bath houses until 6:45PM today, nor am I allowed to set it up."

"Not a problem." He raised his arm and he did a snap of the fingers and four silhouettes of shadowy figures mimicking maids were formed from the shadows and they were all armed with brushes and dusters. He then generously gave her a pouch full of gold coins. "Just point them my way if they start asking, it is kind of urgent that the bath is prepared for when she comes."

Siesta gaped at the pouch full of gold coins that was about twice as much as she would earn in her monthly salary. "B-but sir… I mean Gaunter-san I cannot accept this!" she tried to insist. "I may lose my job."

"No you won't siesta, stop overthinking things and please get that bath ready and the clothes prepared would you please. Oh and if you do lose your job, I'm sure she will be happy to purchase your contract "Gaunter assured her. "And I insist that you keep the money, it's alright I have plenty more where that came from and the next one won't be free next time, so I insist"

"O-Okay" she resigned the argument and went on her way to set up the bathhouse

"And pick some scents to go with it, something relaxing or eases the muscles would do! Gaunter called out to her and she nodded as she made her way to the girl's bathhouse.

"Now to check up on Louise, see how she is fairing out." Gaunter mused to himself as he hummed a tune while walking on his way to the dorm room of Louise.

* * *

It was barely sunrise and the school bells don't ring until seven to wake up the students for them to get themselves prepared and freshened up and then make their way to the Alviss dining hall for breakfast and then attend their morning lessons. So the rest of the students were all fast asleep so there wasn't a sound to be heard apart from some maids quietly working in their morning shifts in the hallways and Gaunter's boots echoed through the hall way lightly. The candles flickered as the light caught his appearance and the shadow's enveloped the light as the shadow covered the majority of the hallway's walls as he walked closer to Louis's room.

"Here it is." He said as he arrived at the room that housed Louise "I wonder how her training is going." He mused to himself before he took out a key and unlocked the door and then opened it and then he went inside and closed it behind him. He turned around to face the interior of the room to see something that had almost taken him by surprise… almost.

What was supposed to be Louise on the bed unconscious was instead her standing in the centre of the room facing the door. Her fringe and her hair bangs shadowed her eyes and parts of her stone faced expression. She was still in her school uniform but it was torn in many places and several sizes too large. The sleeves were split apart and reached towards her elbows or mid forearm, the bottom of the shirt now reached somewhat midriff and showing off her toned yet taut and six pack smooth abs and curvy hips. Her chest had burst free from the small sized shirt and it could barely cover the sizable chest area so it left little to the imagination. She currently wore no skirt as the skirt could no longer support itself around her waist, yet her panties still remained yet strained against her toned yet shapely butt that also left little to the imagination. On her body were several scars and burns, but they were not that serious as they would eventually fade away with a couple of healing spells, but the one that caught Gaunter's attention was the scar that had formed on her left eye that was similar to a particular Witcher that was somewhat responsible for Gaunter's predicament. She also had a nice look on her face despite the loss of baby fat and now toned and angular like a carved out marble statue with soft facial features that would leave many women green with gut wrenching envy. She also had this nice look from whenever he saw the Witcher Geralt. She was like a wolf… a pink wolf, but a fierce lone wolf like Geralt, but what kind of wolf would she be?

Gaunter's musing had been cut short as he was interrupted by one of the bed posts of Louise's bed being snapped off with brute strength and lousie had charged at him with a sudden burst of speed until Gaunter raised his palm and "Stop!" and Louise's weapon and froze in mid-air.

Gaunter had looked at her straight in the face and his eyes widened in intrigue. "That is definitely a nice look you have on your face" he grinned.

What had interested him were the results of the potion and the training. 'I never expected the vial to have evolved her this much, but with those eyes of hers… there is no mistake that I have created the first female Witcher without going through trouble and dangers of the trial of Grass that the witchers have to go through to receive their mutations.' He mused to himself. He had also noticed that there was a wolf like snarl and a fierce ice cold scowl on her face with a look of fury of a scorned woman.

" _Gaunterrr!"_ she hissed through her teeth.

"I can tell that the training session had certainly paid itself off don't you think? You're back earlier than expected… how did it go?" he asked of her time witch made her pent up anger and fury sky rocket and then burst open.

She responded by raising her left hand off of the bed post weapon and her hand charged up an electrical surge through the tips of her fingers and she thrusted the electrified finger tips towards gaunter's head at a speed that was too fast for a normal human to see.

"Apupupup!" he slapped her hand and the electrical surge in her hand dissipated and then disarmed her weapon by disintegrating the bed post by grasping onto the post and turning it to ash.

"Look, I can understand you are quite upset-"he was interrupted by a chair being thrown at him and he swerved his head around the chair and it shattered to pieces on the wall behind him.

"Quite upset is an understatement…TRY FUCKING LIVID FOR ONE EXAMPLE!" she roared like a raging manticore.

"Louise there are students still sleeping, it is no very polite of you if you are shouting like this."

"I'm not being polite!? Well excuse me for being this way thanks to the cuntbag that had sent me to a metaphorical hell… for two fucking years!" she held up her index and middle finger in front of her to indicate her point.

Gaunter's eyes went colder and he swiped his hand in the air and just like paper suddenly igniting, her mark had been triggered and she received a horrific burning sensation by the mark for a brief few seconds, but the mark had made her collapse on the floor clutching her face.

Gaunter walked up to her and crouched down to look at her in the face and Louise stared right back defiantly.

"There is no need to act so hostile, the training session was necessary for you to fulfil my end of the bargain. And besides, you didn't spend two years in that metaphorical hell as you call it, but it was realistically a whole night you had spent there. So calm down, you didn't miss anything."

"So… it was all… a dream?"

"Yes, technically speaking. That dream is one of my many dimensions that i control. One so realistic that you may as well have died in real life. Speaking of which, your death record is about 76 deaths in two years, half of them were in the first six months, but later on you learned and got better after each death you suffered."

"Yes… it was… the worst and most difficult experience I have ever been through, my first and second years of the academy pales to the likes of that place." her face was shadowed as the memories of the worst nights surfaced into her memories.

"Yet you eventually soldiered on and fought your way out admirably. How was your experience by the way? Actually I can just read the reports of using your diary that you found in your bedroom at the Valliere estate."

"Go ahead… I don't care anymore." She stood back up and her face turned into a neutral expression, just like Geralt's.

"The bathhouse is being prepared for as well as fresh cloths for you by a really helpful maid I had just met on my way up here. Err what was her name?... Sesta? No, it was…"

"Siesta... I know who she is." She said although it was more like a whisper of tiredness. "She is one of the best maids in this academy. She is such a good girl, but sometimes gets into trouble" She smiled sadly and genuinely.

"Hmm? What's this? You are actually showing compassion for once. Could it be that I have knocked the high and mighty pride out of you" he said humorlessly

"I woke up, I realised my place in the world and I will not allow anyone to control my fate ever again." she replied in an ice cold tone.

Gaunter smirked to himself as she had definitely changed for the better. "…very good."

Louise ignored gaunter and went straight for the bathhouse, in need for a long awaited wash in the hot and relaxing waters. Gaunter on the other hand raised a curious brow "She does realise that she just walked out half naked, right?" he said to himself but shrugged the question off and went to inspect her diary and see through the words and experiences of Louise had went through in the dream.

* * *

 **-Day 2 (1st death)**

This is really happening, I can no longer die and every time I do I get sent back here with the same clothes on my back and this sabre in my right hand and in the same boat in the same lake right by my family home.

My body still remembers the battle, the spells I used and the swordplay that I surprisingly know as if it was second nature to me, only that I lack the experience in mastering the art. The battle, or if I could call it that was a one sided massacre until I fell at my 47th kill, they just kept on coming. My spells did most of the damage while my swordsmanship proved to be quite deadly up close. but I let my guard down and they suddenly found new ways to attack me. They attacked me through the worn out walls and simply smashed their way through and even through the ceiling and the second floor windows.

These abominations are lethal in packs; they can run endlessly, climb anywhere and are relentless in their attacks. While they have half the strength of an orc, they are actually quite fragile as they are already dead. But eventually I was overwhelmed by their numbers and their cunningness that made them attack from different places that exposed my blind spots. I died from being torn apart from an animalistic feeding frenzy that tore apart my flesh.

It wasn't until today that I realised that Gaunter's warning was that they are attracted to sound like moths to the light. So reluctantly I had to take his warning seriously unless I would not be able to move out of my home and head elsewhere.

The mirror as I thought would be in my bedroom was not there, there was A mirror just standing right in the centre of my room, but once I approached the mirror… it shattered. I could feel as if in my head that he is mocking me in my plight.

The other location I had in mind was the academy, but that was at least a three day travel on foot. It would also take less time on a horse, but it would take a lot longer with those monsters out there prowling around in the darkness.

Gaunter said that there are certain items that he would drop along the way that would help me in my survival, so I decided to look around the estate to see if there is something I could use. Something that i hope that mother had left behind for me to use for my survival.

And she did indeed have something left behind, her old armour back in her days when she was known as the heavy wind and feared by all. This was the armour that she would've worn back in her early to late twenties before she got a new set of armour. This armour was like a family heirloom that no one had taken up because we three sisters could never hope to live up to her name, but that will soon change.

There was also a few basic spells of each element like a fireball spell, gale spell, water whip, boulder spell. I was honestly shocked that i could use spells for the first time in my life even without the use of a wand and chanting, but was this all worth it? This was not how I imagined how I would now use magic. I can use wandless spells like the elves… I could get targeted by the church for this.

No matter… I will deal with it when the time comes. For now, I need to find my way to the academy.

 **-Day 4 ( 2nd death)**

On the third day I stepped out into the world, and it was literally a hellish nightmare. Everything was dead and lifeless. The fog surrounding my house is not helping visibility although it did help me from hiding from a few hordes that at one time was randomly roaming aimlessly into places at random. I hid myself under a burrow that was a as large an average human. I took no notice about the size of the hole and I hid myself into the hole to wait for the horde to pass by.

Little did I know was that wasn't alone inside the hole. Inside the hole was a creature that looked like human with its skin torn off revealing all of its exposed muscle and its brain was exposed and covered were its eyes were supposed to be, but it could easily detect me without any eyes at all. It walked on all fours and had claws fit for a hunter and a digger. It also had an outrageously long tongue that can also be used as a weapon.

I never stood a chance as I was caught off guard and I was separated from the waist down and dragged deeper into the burrows.

 **-Day 7** **(5th death)**

This is impossible! I cannot get two miles away from my house without stumbling into a mass horde or a different monster.

One of them I was convinced was someone crying inside a cottage that looked to be ransacked. I made my way inside and saw a woman crying over a baby's cot. I assumed it was a mother suffering through loss for her child. My heart called out for her, but I could not see her fully and I used a basic light spell from the palm of my hand and I summoned a small ball of light to illuminate the room.

I then realised my mistake once the whole room was illuminated, this woman was already dead but she acted as if she was alive. Her fingers had transformed into deadly claws and her eyes were blood red that shone menacingly once she spun around maliciously as the light was shining on her and she was aggravated. She stared at my hand and her eyes widened as if she recognised what I was doing.

She growled and hissed out in a monstrous/ demonic tone at me. She said " _ **Nobles….mages… you did this to us. We never did anything wrong….why must we suffer? What did my daughter do to deserve such a cruel fate."**_ She hissed out.

I couldn't answer. The lump in my throat swelled in fear along with my mind that was in a panic and I could not figure out an answer. The longer I took to answer the more my fear was taking over and I was edging closer to the door. She did not like that one bit, and I suffered my latest death by decapitation.

 **-Day 21 (9th death)**

This was not working. My current strategy of avoiding them was working to a certain point, but once I am found I get slaughtered like a sheep left to the wolves. I have to get better, stronger and faster if I were to escape or fight my way out of these tough situations.

This won't be easy.

 **-Day 37 (13th death)**

So far I can feel myself getting stronger, but not enough. Once I am out there and discovering new places that I have never been to before or perhaps I never wanted to in the past. I discovered remote backwater villages that used to be very peaceful once upon a time. But it was burnt to the ground. And I later learned that was due to the lands noble master that had ordered a purge onto this village simply because he thought of it as an eyesore.

The victims soon clawed their way out of ashes of their ruined homes and surrounded me. They didn't tear me apart like the usual hordes would, but these were more intelligent. They could barely speak as their skin was melted off as were their vocal cords. But the message was clear… they wanted vengeance so they took out on me as they also recognised me as a Valliere by the distinct pink hair.

They knocked me unconscious and placed me on a bonfire and watched me burn like they once did. They never cheered, they just simply watched in contempt and satisfaction.

I later found out that this village was not a victim to the plague but was actually destroyed before it had happened. So I was killed by a haunted village by vengeful spirits.

 **Time skip to day 76 (24th death)**

I had finally made it to the academy after three and a half months of toiling through the country side facing such terrible monsters and horde after horde of these undead nightmares. Once I reached the academy I found out that the entire place had suffered a lot.

The courtyard was filled with dried up corpses, some were even hanging off the walls by a noose around their necks and had blades and spears impaled into them. I recognised that these were the students of the academy by recognising their cloaks, brown, black and purple signifying which year we were in. it made sense of why I never came across any infected humans turned to monsters that were once a mage. Did this plague only infect the commoners and only made the nobles and the mages invulnerable? It explains why those victims were so angry.

I went straight to my dorm room and what I found made my heart sink deeper into despair.

My dorm neighbours were all slaughtered. Doors were barged and they lay in their beds either brutalised, committed suicide alone or with a loved one like Guiche did with Montmoroncy. Kirche suffered a brutal attack by being restrained to the bed by chains and with her legs open and bound and gagged by a dirty ragged cloth around the eyes and mouth her bed was stained red and her skull and bones were fractured and broken in a few certain places. I shuddered to think what she suffered that day, she may be a rival and an enemy to the Vallieres for hundreds or years, but I would never wish for her to suffer a fate like this… I would never dare wish for a fate like this on anyone.

Tabitha was nowhere to be seen but it was noted in Kirche's diary that she had fled to her mentally unstable mother's estate in fear for her life. She never got any word from her again just before the attacks managed to breach the academy walls.

In her final entry… was a confession, an apology towards me… It says…

" **Louise… I know I was a major bully and a bitch towards you, but I never meant any of it. In truth, I was never a huge follower of tradition of us being sworn enemies. All I wanted was for us was to be friends, but you always pushed me away. I wanted to help you, but you always denied my advances and treated me with suspicion and hostility. Your stubborn pride and your obsession with your family's tradition of the rule of steel that your mother was so famous for and You always strived to be like her so you could help the princess of Tristian. But it was all becoming too much for you to bear with your unsuccessful attempts at magic and the ridicule by those monsters in human skin.**

 **I wanted to be there for you and so did Tabitha and help you, but they wouldn't let us. Those… monsters in human skin, and I am not talking about the undead and those demonic beings and monsters outside of our walls, but the nobles themselves. The commoners were the only victims to the plague but the mages were immune, therefore the students kicked out all of the servants and threw them to the wolves when they realised this and in a state of mass hysteria they acted on their sense of superiority and fear.**

 **We could've stopped them, but I was just too scared and your mother, the headmaster, Colbert and your sisters and some of the teaching staff were powerless to stop the mass riot in the courtyard. The third years an some of the staff were rallying all of the students with their ringleader Styx and professor Lemans and they rounded up all of the servants and maids and they all pushed them off the academy walls with their levitation spells.**

 **Brimir… I can still hear their screams…. I don't want to be here… this is a den full of demons… I am so scared… louise, if you read this… I am sorry for all the things I have put you through and I want to tell you that I lo-… THEY'RE COMING!"**

The journal ended with a splatter of blood staining the pages red. And my eyes were widened in shock… Kirche had feelings for me. The Zerbst never meant anything wrong against me. She was afraid for me. Why? We were enemies for a long generation over grudge between two men who lost a lover to a Zerbst, but now that I think about it was quite a silly reason to hold a grudge for that long.

She always wanted to be friends with me, but I always pushed her away and treated her as if she was my enemy. At first when I had known she was a Zerbst I had reacted quite poorly towards her at first, but it was more down to the traditional grudge match between Valliere and Zerbst that fuelled my hatred and selfishness.

I suppose I could overlook this whole thing and I could perhaps… start anew with Kirche… when I get out of this never-ending nightmare.

But there was one thing that had caught my attention, my mother and my sisters were here. I panicked and headed straight for my room where I thought that would be the most likely place they would be at. I arrived at my door and I realised that the door was blocked by runes that sealed the door shut and prevented anyone from getting in. but the seals were weakened over time and all it took was a cast of dispel that i had found a castle ruins that proves that my main element was indeed void.

The runes that sealed the door withered away and I barged my way into the room and what I saw inside made me sink deeper into despair.

My family were in bed all huddled together along with me cuddled up to my mother's chest and my mother and my sister holding me protectively. The bodies that were on the bed had withered and the clothes still remained but had also withered dulled overtime. Next to the dresser was a bottle of poison. I assumed we had all ingested it so we wouldn't suffer the same fate as everyone else.

But my father was nowhere to be seen… where was he? Had soon gotten my answer when I found a small note with runes inscribed to preserve it was still being held In my mother's hand. The note said… **"That bastard betrayed us. Do not trust Duke Victor de La Vallière! He is beyond madness! he is not the man i married and a father of my three daughters...he never was...and he never will"**

Her eyes widened. Her father had betrayed his wife… the heavy wind and his daughters? For what? Nobody would dare to cross the heavy wind herself, why would he do that? I so hope this wasn't a trick formed by Gaunter himself, but…. I can't help but get this feeling deep down that I know that there is an inkling of truth behind this back in reality. Father never had much power compared to the likes of mother as it was mother who held all the power over our territory and she is close friends with queen Marianne. If anybody fell out of line or broke any laws in our territory then she would be the one to dish out the punishment. Not to mention that her influence in the palace and Tristain and even the world far exceeds his own.

One time on my mother's 45th birthday, I thought I could see bitterness in my father's eyes. During that time most of the gusts were there to see my mother. Even on his birthdays he would barely get any guests turning up or they were mostly there to meet the duchess of Valliere or the heavy wind herself.

She was just better than him in every single way in nobility, magic, status and power. Something he sorely lacks. But he was incredibly lucky to have courted the heavy wind herself, so why would he betray his family.

I had thought long and hard until the answer was clear and obvious… power. He had enough power as it is, but he craved more.

In that moment of realisation, my tears and my rage that I had held back in over these long arduous months and years of abuse and torment and at long last my rule of steel had burst like a raging torrent of emotions.

I had lost Track of time and how many demons and undead I had slain last night before I woke up in the boat and then retreated back to the family home and cried the whole day in my room as well as my sisters and my mother's room.

 **(There was evidence of tears that dampened the page.)**

No longer will I be the zero, no longer shall I have to suffer through torment and their arrogance. I will show them… I will show them all of what a wolf looks like once provoked. I toiled and worked hard to get where I am while others complain. I persevered through many years of failure, bullying and mockery of my talents when others give up, and when evil stares me in the eyes, I stare right back. THAT is who I am, who I will be once I get out! And once I am out I will need to rethink my life and be more considerate of the innocent lives I have spat down upon around me. The common people have nothing to protect themselves from the hardships that they have lived all of their lives under fear from the noble's shadow, but they have no idea what true freedom really is. They are imprisoned by their noble masters' laws and customs and the noble's so-called 'civility'. They are selfish people. They live frivolous, wasteful lives, possessing neither purpose nor direction! The royal family as I now see it is losing power from these power hungry fools.

She preaches and states of the rights of every man. But the cold harsh truth in all of this is all for one man or some people. Who are these people and why are they more important than the rest? Why do the needs of the few come before the many? And why are the many left ignored when they are clearly suffering.

Gaunter is seriously making me reconsider all I have been taught by society and the Brimiric faith. That it was all wrong and had made us incompetent, corrupted and cruel. And as reluctantly as I am to admit… he is right.

 **(Skip to the last entry 68th death)**

After discovering seven mirrors in over two years and all of them led to a dead end I was nearly out of ideas until my final location I had in mind was the Tristainian royal palace had suddenly popped up in my head. I remembered on her ninth birthday I had sent her a gift of one of my favourite mirrors that I wanted her to have. She looked so happy to have received it from me and I was so happy at that time that she gave me a big hug after that. that was the last genuine smile I have last seen. I have always treasured that smile and I will make her smile again, this time as a true friend and not a subordinate.

That was where I must go, but I had always avoided that area as it was the most dangerous location in all of Tristain. I had no choice, I will gather every equipment that I have found in all the locations I had discovered it in and I will storm that palace... I don't care of how many times I die, I will get that mirror.

 **Final day (76th death)**

Today's the day…It's all or nothing. I am writing this in the outskirts of Tristania in a small farmhouse. There are many dangerous monsters swarming Tristania in the streets and in the air. Giant demonic vultures swarm the sky that would bombard you with demonic fireballs that they rain don on you from the sky.

Undead knights patrol the streets and they remember all their skills from once they were knights, even remember how to handle swords and ranged weaponry. They protect the palace from any sorts of attacks and they still do.

All of these two years of arduous battles, endless evasions and stealth tactics, scavenging hidden archives and armouries from locations from places that I can remember once and even unknown places that are foreign to me, and surviving this hellish barren wasted lands from demons and monsters that were created by evil men. It was all for this moment, and the mirror has to be here…no, it will be here. I can feel it.

 **(3rd POV)**

 **(OST: Susumu Hirasawa's – Forces - Berserk)**

 ***Boom!***

The palace gates were blasted into chunks of rock and smithereens by an unrelenting force. The undead guards and the demons guarding the palace were alerted to the main gates to the palace. Knights from their memories had formed into formations that they remember from their memories held up their shields to chest height and aimed their pikes at the intruder. Behind them was another formation of the undead musketeers of mostly female non magical knights the gunpowder squadron with their loaded muskets in a single file volley of up to 40 women surrounding the courtyard.

What came out of the dust and smoke was a tall figure of a woman with her hair done up in a mid-pony tail that went down to her shoulders and her left fringe covered her left eye while exposing her right scarred eye and she was wearing a red and black layered jackets made of leather and reinforced with metal studs/rivets that is well armoured and a reinforced outer jacket with panels of mail armour and metal spaulders on the shoulders. Her trousers were black leather with reinforced dark brown knee guards with dark brown boots, And also with a white shirt underneath the armoured jacket. (Superior wolf gear)

On her back were two swords, one a steel sword and the other a silver sword (Black Unicorn Relic Steel Sword and the Viper Venomous silver Sword) and the both of them had glowing runes inscribed into the weapons and they were humming with power **(Maxed out attack and crit).** She withdrew both of her lades and spun it in her palms and got into a low stance.

"Let's go!" she shouted before she disappeared into a blur that kicked up a lot of dust behind her. The undead roared out in challenge and the muskets all fired simultaneously covering the courtyards in a blanket of smoke and lead balls ricocheting off the stone and marble walls and pavement of where Louise was last standing. They all paused in confusion as they all could've sworn she was standing right at the gates until she suddenly reappeared in a sudden burst of speed right in front of the pike men.

"AARD!" she roared out and a huge telekinetic blast thundered out of her palm and slammed into the shield wall tearing a gap straight through the palace guards. Shields, armour and weapons flew everywhere and windows and statues and other architecture building ornaments were shattered in an instant. She ignored the remaining guards and musketeers as she favoured in getting straight into the palace itself. The palace doors that led into the main atrium of the palace was locked shut, but no matter… she will bring it down.

 **(Hai Yai Forces, Hai Yai Forces! X4)**

She jumped high into the air and delivered another AARD spell to the door that flew straight off its hinges and reduced it to splinters. The guards that were on the other side were either impaled or crushed by chunks of the heavy door and stabbed by hundreds of splintery wood. The impact didn't hurt them… nothing could, but it slowed them down and they were stunned to the spot as Louise continued her onslaught and began to fight her way to the stairs that led up to the throne room.

But there were hundreds if not a thousand of these monsters were blocking her way, and if she squinted hard enough she would recognise Henrietta's bodyguard and captain of the gunpowder squadron Agnès Chevalier de Milan who was snaring at her and pointing her own flintlock pistol in a threatening manner.

No matter… Louise ignited her blades with an infusion of the fires from her Igni spell and the blades transformed into a fiery blade that would combust anything in its path. And then she charged out bellowing a war cry of a lone wolf out for blood. The first wave of undead never stood a chance as the first swipe of the flame swords tore through them like a raging wildfire. She suddenly dashed out of the raging fire and started a whirlwind of skillful acrobatic dance of death with her dual wielding blades as she slowly made her way to the stairs.

Every step, every strike was perfection in the eyes of a true swords master. The musketeers who drew their swords even with their enhanced strength could not handle the might and ferociousness of the pink wolf that mass slaughtered all of their fellow comrades.

Soon the numbers were beginning to thin out and more was soon to join in on the fight, even the undead commoners from outside of the palace were looking for fresh blood to spill and they were soon to invade the palace.

Louise could not continue the fight and casted a wind spell on her legs and jumped and air hiked all the way to the stairs but not before beheading the leader of the horde. After Agnes's head dropped onto the stairs and rolled out on the atrium floor, it took as few seconds for their brains to eventually reboot. They roared in outrage and unfortunately for them… Louise was already ahead.

She had finally reached the throne room and barred the doors behind her. She turned to the throne and her breath hitched as sitting in the throne undisturbed was the dried up husk and skeletal remains of Princess Henrietta with a faded royal purple gown with an equally faded, dusty and rusted tiara clutching onto her mirror that she kept safe for years.

She approached the throne of where Henrietta sat alone till her death. Her hands reached out for her dear friends and grasped onto them. "Thank you… Henrietta, and… I'm…sorry…I promise… that I will keep you safe… from anything…. That'll bring you harm." Hot tears were streaming from her eyes as she now grasped onto the mirror and a bright white flash of light consumed the room as the horde had found her and broke through, but they were too late… Louise Françoise le Blanc de La Vallière has finally escaped.

 **(End song)**

* * *

 **(Present)**

Gaunter smiled. "How touching. Her bond of friendship has motivated her to take action, all in order to protect her friends and the innocent. Not how I imagined her to go, I was more expecting her to go insane like everyone else. I really have gotten a special one haven't i?" he mused.

"I suppose I have to confess to her about the truth behind this world." he snapped the diary shut and walked towards the door and closed the door on his way out.

* * *

 **(Female's bathhouse)**

Siesta had finally prepped up the bathhouse and it was at a nice hot temperature to keep anyone satisfied, but she was forbidden from using it. The nobles would not like it if any of the commoners were to taint the waters as only the nobles get the privilege to bathe in such a refined bathhouse like this. While she prepared the bathhouse as she was told to by Gaunter, she wiped a stream of sweat from her brow as it was becoming quite hot and steamy in the bathhouse.

She was then alerted by the door opening and she jumped and turned quickly around and was relieved to see that It was not anyone of the teaching staff or the head maid for that matter. Instead she got quite a bigger shock as she saw a tall girl possibly in her second to third year was walking into the bath half naked with her ruined clothes that looked to severely strained and stretched out barely covering her private parts.

"M-m-m-my lady, W-what happened to your clothes!?" she stammered and her face lit up bright red and was venting out steam as she saw the figure of a mature looking teenage girl that was seriously well-built and defined and contained all the right feminine features to look attractive in anyone eyes. Her eyes also trailed across the various scars that were lightly faded across her skin and the large one covering her right eye.

"Oh them… I grew out of them." she said nonchalantly whilst Eyeing up the servant girl. She has seen her around before and is a hard worker as always, but also appeared to be very meek towards the nobility such as herself. Her shyness and hardworking nature would at times make her an easy target. Louise had a good long think to herself while she was walking to the bathhouse about her epiphany. She sometimes was quite harsh on her even though she was just doing her job, her arrogant, bossy nature would make her all the weaker, fearful and submissive.

"D-did you walk all the way over her dressed like…that?" she stammered as her face was flushing furiously.

"Yeah… what's wrong with the way I dress?" she mentally smirked at her innocent reaction s she found it quite amusing.

"I…errr… it is not befitting of a noble to be dressed in such an inappropriate manner. What if somebody saw you?"

"Well it's a good thing there was nobody out to have spotted me, and I am not hearing you complaining Siesta." She smiled to her as she pointed out her bright flushed out face.

"Kyaa! N-n-n-no I-i-I just…wait? How do you know my name?"

"Siesta… how many girls in this academy do you know that has pink hair?" she indicated to her pink hair.

"Only 1...Why?" Siesta answered back genuinely curious as to why she asked that, but soon she blinked a few times and really focused on the face and her features a bit more closely and a few seconds later her eyes lit up in recognition and her mouth flew open in shock.

"M-M-Miss Valliere! Kya!" She flew backwards in shock and slipped and fell into the hot water. "owowow!" She splashed around in the water and spluttered out the water from her mouth.

"Are you alright?" Louise asked quite concerned about the maid as she stepped into the water and pulled her to her feet and siesta tripped and fell straight into Louise's newly formed chest now with added breasts that were as big as the most desired girl in the entire academy's own chest. Siesta blushed slightly and then lifted up her head and looked straight into Louise's eyes. She noticed that she was a lot taller than her and her body was more defined and matured.

"I-is that really you Miss Valliere?" she asked as she looked right into her light red/pinkish eyes.

"Yeah… and call me Louise" She nodded. 'Am I really that I different to what I was before I changed?' she thought.

"But i…" she tried to reason that it wasn't right for commoners to call Nobles by their first names and without the proper addressing of said noble.

"I insist Siesta… I don't care about the whole properness of addressing nobles right now. So for now I want you to call me by my given name.

"Oh…Ok…L-louise" she looked so vulnerable and scared that she would lash out at her, but Louise just smiled back appreciatively. "Thank you Siesta." She nodded to siesta who blushed at the gratitude she received.

"What happened to you?" the maid asked. "I-I don't remember you being this…tall before.

"Long story, but let's just stick with sudden growth spurt." She lowered her head and her eyes were shadowed by her hair and smile thinned and her expression briefly turned to stone cold expression of tiredness and sadness. Siesta was not sure what to do in this situation as she was really close towards a noble girl's personal space as if they were intimate lovers, but then she suddenly found herself being turned around effortlessly with a sudden and surprising amount of strength by Louise's enhanced body. Siesta then suddenly found that her Maid uniform was being stripped off in a matter of seconds as her dress was suddenly past her shoulders and revealing her own sizable chest of mid-size D cups and down to her smooth waist and plump buttocks clearly on display.

"Kya!… w-what are you doing!?" she stammered and dropped immediately into the water in shame and embarrassment.

"What does it look like I'm doing? You can't take a bath fully clothed, so you're going to have a bath with me." Louise's smiled kindly to her… a genuine smile not one that is mostly forced out in public. "Besides it was kind of my fault you got so wet, so I'm just making it up to you.

Siesta blushed red hot as she had never seen her with such a kind yet beautiful smile before she used to be Chibi sized. And her smile looked so… serene, kind and pleasant, not the forced, prideful and sneering smile she would usually see on her face and most of the other nobles.

She neatly folded the dress, socks and shoes and headband and casted a drying spell over them with the use of her wand this time as to not draw too much attention to herself. Siesta looked shocked at the fact that Louise was now casting spells as she was renowned to be a catastrophic failure in casting spells that it would always end up with explosions every time, hence why she was given that disgraceful moniker "Louise the Zero".

"They should be dry the time we get out. Now how's about we get ourselves washed up ne?" she tilted her head with a smile that her sister Cattleya would normally do.

"B-but i-I'm not allowed to bathe in here. What if somebody were to walk in?"

"It'll be fine Siesta, just stick with me and you will be fine." Louise assured her with a smile and ushered siesta to sit down in the hot steaming water and sat right next to her with the water now reaching up to her chest and not up to where her neck was when she would usually bathe in the bathhouse.

Siesta was heavily blushing and trying not to catch glimpses of the noble girl's assets and muscle definition that she found attractive and soon became increasingly infatuated in her body as she never knew girls could obtain these kind of muscles as girls were stereotypically known as to be quite delicate and the arrogant and sexist men would proclaim that all women are weak, seeing Louise in front of her with a body of a powerful warrior, experienced mage and beautiful noble girl. She felt herself growing hotter and more flushed by the second, but also feeling a sense of paranoia if some noble were to walk in and catch her bathing in the bath house that was restricted for nobles only.

"Why so nervous?" Louise asked.

"Wh-what if somebody were to walk in and see me?"

"I'll handle it, don't you worry. Just relax and enjoy the water." She sighed in relief as the hot water soothed her aching muscles. She couldn't help but fidget a bit as she could feel this slight cramp I her shoulder. "Ah!...Siesta? Could you massage my shoulders please? And also wash my back while you are at it?"

Siesta looked at louise in shock because a noble especially Lousie had polity requested something off of a commoner such as herself and even said please. "Erm?... of course." She poked her fingers nervously and gently placed her hands on her shoulders as Louise turned around. "You're going to have to really dig your fingers in." Louise pointed out.

Siesta gulped and did as she was told and once she made contact her face flushed and her breathing was now heavier as she glided her hands across Louise's toned shoulders. 'Wow… these are really tense and so defined. They feel as if I am touching iron right now but it's really smooth to touch.' Siesta got lost in exploring Louise's muscle body that she suddenly lost track of where her hands were going and ended brushing underneath her armpit and underneath her right breast.

Lousies breath had suddenly hitched as she felt something pleasant building up in her chest as siesta brushed past her now sensitive breasts. Siesta blanched white and jumped back in shock as her breath had been caught in her throat and was cursing at herself for her blunder. "Kyaa! Sorrysorrysorry! I-i-i-i-I did'nt meant to do that" she stammered in shock and was bowing hysterically.

"No…it's fine." Siesta immediately stopped as she looked up and found that Louise had a light pink blush on her face "You were just curious about my body; to be honest I was like you when I first got this body."

"First got it?" she tilted her head.

"Hm!" she nodded. "It's alright I'm not going to bite back if your hands slip somewhere else, but could you wash my back?" Lousie asked who nodded meekly and went off to retrieve a sponge and soap.

Louise sat on a stool out of the water and faced her back towards Siesta and she went to work on washing her muscular toned back and curvy hips that she was baffled that louise had suddenly acquired them overnight. She poured the warm water over louise's back and she groaned in satisfaction as she scrubbed ever part that louise could not reach and it relived her of all of the aches. Siesta was now transfixed on her incredible body as her wet skin seemed to shimmer through all of the soapy water and the soft smoothness that can only be found in noble mage women. Siesta was feeling herself be infatuated in her body while she herself did not realise it yet. She started to imagine herself being held in those strong arms and her hands roaming around her smooth toned waist, arms and legs.

But then the door leading out to the changing rooms suddenly opened and she squeaked in horror.

(Five minutes ago)

"Tabitha~! Why are we up so early!? Kirche whined to her blue haired friend as she was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Curious." She stated in her monotonous voice and as always she was girl of few words.

"About what? You're acting strange Tabitha what's gotten into you?"

Tabitha had suddenly stopped and pointed towards the bathhouse. "Bathhouse… Open?"

"Is it? Oooh! That means we can beat all of the students early and have the bathhouse to ourselves! Come on Tabby-chan!" before Tabitha could retort she was whisked away by an excited Kirche who was eager to have an early bath in the exquisite and majestic bathhouse that was quite popular with the other students and staff.

The two friends raced into the changing rooms and stripped off all their clothes only leaving white towels wrapped around their form. Tabitha was staring at Kriche with a blank annoyed expression while Kirche waved it off with a laugh. "Oh lighten up Tabitha, trust me I think you need this to relax." Kirche said to her while Tabitha sighed and as Kirche opened the door to the bathhouse she saw two figures that were beside the large open bath.

She recognised the black haired girl as the maid called Siesta and wondered why she was in the bathhouse as commoners were usually frowned upon by the students and the nobles from using the bathhouse, hence why it was unusual to find one in the bathhouse. And then the other one was a girl or woman with natural pink hair that went down to her mid back that was familiar to her. As she shifted her head a bit so she got a good look at the side of her face and her eyes, Tabitha's face lit up in shock as she recognised the figure to be her classmate and her best friend's rival Lousie or what very student in the academy refers her as "Lousie the zero". She noticed that she had changed so much from the small underdeveloped girl like herself ad suddenly grown into this beautiful pink rose that despite her beauty she also has the air and the look that makes her strong and dangerous if crossed.

Kirche on the other hand did not notice or realise that the girl had a physical growth spurt overnight and only recognised her hair. While she was a bit miffed that she would be sharing the bathhouse with Louise who would as usual always be spiteful of her appearance and therefore ruin the atmosphere in the bathhouse before leaving in a huff. She then got a mischievous and devious idea forming into her head and decided to surprise Lousie as she hadn't noticed her yet.

The black haired girl had turned around and her face went up in shock and scooted away from lousie who looked at siesta in question as to what she was doing until…

 **(Present)**

"Louise!~" she jumped on her back while mashing her sizeable orbs of soft breasts into Louise's smooth and toned back and Louise had frozen. As she felt someone familiar who hooked her arms underneath her arms and reached around cupped both of her chest and gave a massive squeeze.

"Did your familiar run away from you yet? How much did you pay him for acting as your familiar because that act of his was really convincing." She said sarcastically towards Louise who did not say a word or move a muscle as she had heard movement and voices in the changing rooms but she was too relaxed to have recognised their voices and then all of a sudden memories had started to flood back into her head of all the horrors she had witnessed that became of Kirche that she had itnessed back in that place.

While Kriche was giggling to herself about her own little joke to poke at Lousie, she suddenly started realise that something was incredibly wrong with this picture as she looked down and at head and face of lousie.

She is about as tall as her

She had muscle on her… honest to brimir, muscles!

She had breasts that were as almost big as hers and also had the curves that matched hers, as well as the size and toned bottom that were as similar to hers.

And she had battle scars.

She gave another squeeze around the chest and she had noticed that she was not groping a flat grassland but actual mountains on her chest. She could also feel the denseness in her arms by rubbing her own arms against hers.

She froze as she thought she might have groped the wrong person but when she looked into the face of the person she had groped she instantly recognised the person.

"L-Louise!?" she yelped as she suddenly let go and her face was now gaping wide at the sudden change in her rival. "W-what happened to you!?"

Louise didn't answer and turned around to face kirche with her eyes shadowed and a tense air shrouding her that unnerved everyone in the room.

"Erm… louise? I-I'm sorry that I groped you ok… it's just… that… I never expected you to-"she was suddenly interrupted y her own apologetic stammering as she thought that Louise was about ot lash out at her violently due to her explosive anger issues, but was knocked into a loop of shock and surprise as what Lousie did next was totally unexpected that it had thrown Kirche,Tabitha and Siesta through a loop as Lousie had latched onto Kriche and mashed her bod together with hers and rested her head into the nook of her neck and sobbed into her shoulder.

Kirche Tabitha and Siesta were baffled at her actions as they always remembered her to be an extremely prideful and arrogant girl that was so uptight about her rule of steel that was essential to being the tradition as the offspring of the heavy wind herself. She had been ridiculed before and mocked before but she never cried in front of her peers and fellow students. To see her sobbing with such emotion into the shoulders and in the arms of her arch nemesis and rival of the Vallieres was something they would've never seen coming in a thousand years.

Kirche was shell-shocked that Lousie had hugged her so closely and strongly that she almost felt as if her air was being forced out of her lungs. She slightly blushed at the closeness and how their breasts were mashed together as she was now near her height. She could also hear her muffling in to her shoulders of constant apologies on her behalf _"I'm sorry!...I'm so sorry…Forgive me!"_ were the words she sometimes hear. What was she sorry for?... About her attitude and behaviour towards herself? It couldn't be that, could it? She thought hard about her reasons for apologising but instead shook it off and instead she focused in comforting the Valliere girl as she was clearly in distress and she wrapped her own arms around her and stroked her long pink hair and whispered comforting words into her ear as they both stood there in the spot. Deep down she felt relieved that she was finally opening her heart and letting people in… she felt genuine smile that had now formed onto her face at the thought.

Meanwhile Tabitha was observing the scene and analysing on the absurdity in louise's sudden appearance and attitude and behaviour change. She scrutinised the whole scene playing out in front of her and had the only conclusion that it must've been that man. She had this instinctual feeling that this was all his work. She winced at a sudden memory of that cursed whistling tune echoing in her mind.

Finally after a full five minutes of calming down Louise's who was still streaming tears down her face and soaking Kirche's shoulder. She was then guised back into the still hot baths in order to calm down as Kriche sat by her side and Siesta was on the other side as she felt herself concerned about the Noble girl's wellbeing and likewise helped in calming down Louise.

" _Th-Thank you"_ she sniffled as she gripped onto Kriche's hand that she offered in support.

Kirche smiled kindly and nodded to her. "You're welcome Lousie, but what brought this on? And what is with the sudden change?"

"It's a long story." She had her head dipped.

"It's not about me and the other fellow students ridiculing you is it?"

"No… that I can handle easily, it's just…"

"That man." Tabitha offered her ow suggestion and it was spot as Louise turned her head to face her. She knew it was no use in hiding things from Tabitha s she knew she found out by her expression and she knew who she was referring to.

"Yes… it was him."

"Who is this man you are talking about?" Kirche raised her eyebrow in suspicion.

"My familiar… Gaunter O'Dimm" she told them the name of the man of glass and only Tabitha reacted to the name as her eys idend in shock and her breathing had hitched in her throat.

"Tabitha!? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Her breathing slowed down to normal pace as she controlled her breaths. "It's just that… I recognise that name.

"You do?...How?" Lousie asked her and leaned forward to hear her explain and she insisted on that and she won't budge until she does.

Tabitha seeing no way out of this one, she sighed and went on to explain, this time in longer sentences. "Back when I was little girl, I almost fell victim to a potion that would've caused my mind to fall and be corrupted to madness. I was attending a party at the time with my mother and a servant had offered me a drink from a goblet. What i didn't know was that the goblet of wine was spiked with the potion and my mother caught on to what the servant was planning and she intervened by drinking from the goblet of the spiked wine and at that moment she fell to madness." She clenched her fists together as they both paled until she carried on.

"She would frequently stay inside her room with a doll and treating the doll as if it were me and instead treat my actual appearance as a stranger and act hostile towards me whenever I approach her…. One night I heard her in her room singing what appeared to be a nursery rhyme to the doll in her arms. I was a young girl from when I first heard her sing it through the break of her bedroom door and from that night that song had plagued my mind for years about the meaning behind it and where it originated from as this nursery rhyme was not mentioned in any folklore in any place in Halkeginia and she has never sang that Nursery rhyme to me before she had taken the potion."

"How does it go?" Louise asked of her as she wanted to know.

 **(OST: Gaunter O'Dimm theme song but cutting to the Nursery Rhyme part)**

"From what I remember of it… I'm sure it goes like this.

 _His smile fair as Spring, as towards him he draws you._

 _His tongue sharp and silvery, as he implores you._

 _Your wishes he grants, as he swears to adore you._

 _Gold, silver, jewels, he lays riches before you._

 _Dues need be repaid, and he will come for you._

 _All to reclaim, no smile to console you._

 _He snare you with bonds, eyes glowin' afire._

 _To gore and torment you till the stars expire."_

Louise felt chills crawling up her spine as she understood the meaning behind those words. He came to her with a silvery tongue and she accepted his help and unknowingly she had accepted his offer of whatever she wished for and that was power, success and the ability to do magic, all that she had ever yearned for in her whole life. But the dread she could feel was that this power will not come free as she will need to repay the debt she owes for Gaunter giving her the powers and she will have to abide by his end of the bargain.

All to reclaim? What could that mean? He did mention something about taking back what was his back from Brimir, what could he want from him? No smile to console you? I dread to think what that could mean. The last two words were what had made her tense. He was tormenting her with these debts she was forced to repay, like he was controlling her through it.

Kirche noticed Louise tensing up and frowned. "Louise?... what did he do to you?"

"You are looking at what happened… he did this to me." Louise said with her head dipped down and staring into the water. Then all of a sudden Kirche and Tabitha got out of the water and were heading straight to the changing rooms.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Louise asked of them as she was taken back by their strong posture as they marched towards the changing room.

"To confront your familiar! We're going to make him regret from hurting you!" Kirche growled out and Tabitha likewise had a look of cold fury in her eyes. They were about to reach the doors and opened it until the doors slammed shut by a hand that had suddenly appeared in an instant burst of speed.

"You can't do that!"

"Why not!? Let us help you Louise, why are you defending him!?" Kirche argued with Louise

"I'm not! It's just that you have no idea what he is!"

"What is he to you that have made you so scared of him?" Tabitha had asked Louise who looked away briefly in slight fear.

"To me… I think he is the devil." she gulped as she could feel cold sweat pouring down her brow.

 **(Elsewhere: in Louise's dorm room)**

Gaunter lifted up his head from his book and gave out a sudden smirk as if somebody was mentioning his name.

"It may not be a smart idea of involving others Louise… but I believe they could be essential in our plans." he grinned.

 **(End of chapter 2)**

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 **Beta Reader - AznMagicman**

* * *

 **Next time on chapter 3 -**

A hand caught Guiche's own in a steel like grip when he was about to strike down at a defenceless Siesta who was trembling on the ground with her hands protecting her face in fear of being lased out at. Guiche winced at the level of power she had in her grip that almost felt as if his hand was about to be paralysed. he looked at the face of girl who looked as if she was at war.

"You harm her and you know you are dead." she spoke in a calm ice cold threatening tone as she drew out a black Pistol that looked advanced than any other sort of pistol the world has ever seen. All Guiche heard next was a click and a cold feel of the metallic pistol being pressed against his head.


End file.
